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THE  LIFE 


OF 


MAJOR-GENERAL  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


COMPRISING 


A  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


IK  THE 


FROM  THE 


COMMEWCXSMEOT?  OF  THIS  CREEK  CAMP AXCHNT, 


TO  THE 


TERMINATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  BEFORE 


BY  JOHN  HENRY  EATON, 
SENATOR    OF   THE    UNITED    STATED 


PHILADELPHIA? 

PUBLISHED  BY  SAMUEL  F.  BRADFORB. 

Jesper  Harding,  Printer. 

1824 


COPY-RIGHT  SECURED  ACCORDING  TO  LAW. 


•    'iLm-% 


PREFACE 


TO  the  decision  of  the  candid,  who  will  duly  appreciate  the 
difficulties  of  an  undertaking  like  the  present,  is  this  work  sub- 
mitted. He  who  ventures  on  a  detail  of  events,  recent  in  the 
recollection  of  the  world,  hazards  much,  and  can  scarcely  ex- 
pect to  escape  censure.  The  numerous  actors  in,  and  spec- 
tators of,  the  scenes  portrayed,  entertaining  different  opinions  of 
the  facts  as  they  transpired,  and  ascribing  them  to  entirely  dif- 
ferent causes,  becomes  each  a  critic  in  his  turn,  accordingly  as 
the  narrative  corresponds  with,  or  is  variant  from  his  own  opi- 
nion. 

The  historian  who  traces  events,  at  a  period  remote  from 
their  occurrence,  stands  on  more  favourable  ground,  and  has 
fewer  difficulties  to  encounter:  he  then  proceeds  in  his  under- 
taking without  being  acted  upon  by  prejudice,  or  influenced  by 
partiality.  His  readers,  too,  are  similarly  situated.  But  he 
who  draws  them  at  a  moment  when  recollection  treasures  them, 
is  oftentimes  placed  under  the  influence  of  both — may  be  divert- 
ed insensibly  from  the  course  pointed  out  by  truth ; — ascribe 
events  to  motives  that  never  induced  thefti ;- — bestow  censure 
where  it  is  not  due,  and  commendation  where  it  is  not  merited. 

To  avoid  errors  so  common,  and  to  present  things  truly  as 
they  occurred,  has  been  the  wish  of  the  author,  and  he  believes 
he  has  succeeded.  He  believes  so,  because  he  had  no  induce- 
ment to  do  otherwise,  and  because,  having  all  the  original 
papers  in  his  possession,  and  the  opportunity  of  constant  and  re- 
peated intercourse  with  the  subject  of  this  history,  there  was  no 
avenue  to  error,  unless  from  intention,  and  this  he  disclaims. 


V  PREFACE. 

He  can  therefore  venture  upon  this  assurance,  that  what  is  de- 
tailed may  be  taken  as  correct. 

As  regards  the  execution  of  the  work,  he  has  not  much  to 
offer  to  the  consideration  of  the  reader.  He  is  willing  to  trust 
it  to  the  world,  without  preface  or  apology ; — without  supplica- 
ting its  charity  or  indulgence  in  his  favour :  from  no  belief  that 
ample  room  is  not  afforded  for  both  to  be  exercised  in  his  be- 
half, but  from  a  conviction  that  they  are  seldom  or  never  extended, 
and  that  none  has  a  right  to  ask  for  them,  unless  under  peculiar 
circumstances.  Whether  he  be  competent  to  the  task,  is  the 
duty  of  every  man  to  inquire,  before  he  undertakes  to  become 
an  author ;  no  sooner  does  he  appear  before  the  public  in  that 
character,  than  they  have  a  right  to  infer,  that  he  has  entire 
confidence  in  his  own  qualifications,  and  therefore  may,  with 
propriety,  judge  him  "  according  to  his  works." 

It  was  not  a  belief  of  this  kind,  that  claimed  an  influence  on 
the  present  occasion :  peculiar  circumstances,  and  not  choice, 
were  the  inducement.  It  is  more,  therefore,  with  a  view  of  cor- 
rectly stating  the  reasons  why  he  is  placed  before  the  public  as 
an  author,  than  to  supplicate  any  indulgence  for  the  defects 
which  the  work  may  be  found  to  contain,  that  any  thing  is  ven- 
tured to  be  said.  His  greatest  regret,  if  he  have  any  on  the  sub- 
ject, is,  that  the  events  had  not  been  portrayed  by  some  masterly 
hand,  that  they  might  have  been  exhibited  in  a  manner  worthy 
of  him  who  gave  them  their  existence. 

It  is  some  time  since  major  Reid  submitted  proposals  for  pub- 
lishing to  the  world,  "  The  Life  of  General  Jackson."  By  those 
who  knew  him,  it  was  a  circumstance  hailed  with  pleasure,  be- 
cause they  entertained  a  confidence  that  the  narrative  would 
be  faithful,  and  that  he  was  well  qualified  to  bestow  every  em- 
bellishment necessary  to  render  it  interesting.  His  mind  had 
been  generously  endowed  by  nature,  and  richly  stored  with  polite 
and  elegant  literature.  The  means  of  education  had  been  libe- 
rally spread  before  him,  nor  had  they  been  neglected.  But 


PREFACE.  V 

before  he  could  effect  his  object,  he  died.  This  event,  deeply 
deplored,  produced  the  necessity  either  of  abandoning  what  had 
been  already  begun,  or  of  prevailing  on  some  person  to  com- 
plete it.  Through  the  entreaty  of  his  relations  and  friends,  the 
present  author  was  led  to  the  undertaking ;  not  from  a  convic- 
tion that  he  would  be  able  to  present  it  in  a  garb  calculated  to 
satisfy  public  expectation,  but  from  a  desire,  that  the  infant 
children  of  one  who  had  rendered  important  services  to  the 
country,  might  not  be  so  far  injured  by  his  death,  as  to  lose  the 
benefit  of  what  their  father  had  commenced,  and  what  might 
afford  a  fund  for  the  purpose  of  their  education. 

This  consideration,  sufficiently  weighty  in  itself,  was  the  more 
cheerfully  subscribed  to,  from  a  belief,  that,  perhaps,  the  greater 
part  of  the  work  was  already  digested,  and  only  needed  to  be 
transcribed,  and  properly  prepared  for  the  press ;  for  as  yet 
the  papers  were  in  Virginia.  Unforeseen  difficulties,  however, 
arose,  when,  on  their  arrival  at  Nashville,  it  was  found  that 
scarcely  one  third  of  it  had  been  prepared ;  while  the  residue 
remained  to  be  sought  for  through  an  immense  quantity  of  pa- 
pers, without  any  arrangement  or  order.  Many  as  were  the 
difficulties  presented,  and  troublesome  as  the  research  promised 
to  be,  yet  the  arrangement  being  already  announced,  it  was  too 
late  to  retract.* 

The  brilliant  achievements  which  had  marked  the  course  of 
general  Jackson,  and  given  to  himself  and  his  country  a  distin- 
guished standing,  had  been  already  brought  to  public  view ;  but 
garbled  facts,  and  contradictory  statements,  had  been  so  exten- 
sively circulated,  that  none  knew  things  truly  as  they  should 
be;  and  all,  with  impatience,  looked  for  the  appearance  of  a 
work,  which  should  dispel  doubt,  and  bring  forth  facts,  substan- 
tially as  they  were. 

*  The  four  first  chapters  of  this  work  were  written  by  major  Reid,  who  was 
an  eye  witness  to  the  events  recorded  by  him.  For  those  the  present  author 
is  not  responsible  j  for  the  residue  he  is. 


VI  PREFACE. 

He  who  shall  read  what  is  written  with  a  determination  to 
be  displeased,  because  it  is  not  so  perfect  as  he  himself  could 
have  made  it,  is  desired  to  remember,  that  there  is  every  ima- 
ginable difference  between  him  who  has  been  accustomed  to 
such  pursuits,  and,  from  habit,  is  enabled  to  give  a  happy  ar- 
rangement to  thought,  and  correctness  to  expression,  and  one 
who  carries  with  him  no  such  aid.  But  those  who  desire  a  cor- 
rect view  of  those  masterly  exertions  which  constantly  hurried 
their  actor  to  the  most  brilliant  and  uninterrupted  successes — 
who  can  be  pleased  with  benevolence  and  generosity,  and 
strength,  and  nerve,  and  decision  of  character,  concentered  in 
the  same  breast — with  a  career,  which,  at. every  step,  evinced 
an  unshaken  determination  to  move  forward  for  the  benefit  and 
exaltation  of  his  country,  at  all  hazards,  and  at  every  risk,  will 
find  much  to  admire.  They  will  see  the  man.  of  whom  they 
have  already  heard  much,  fearlessly  encountering  danger,  and 
erecting  himself  in  opposition  to  every  design  that  came  in  col- 
lision with  the  duty  he  owed  to  the  station  he  occupied ;  and 
who,  in  moments  of  extreme  difficulty,  did  not  shrink  from  re- 
sponsibility ;  but,  bringing  to  his  aid  the  slender  resources  within 
his  reach,  protected  and  saved  an  all-important  and  valuable 
portion  of  his  country,  at  a  time  when  her  warmest  votaries  re- 
garded the  cause,  in  that  quarter,  as  hopeless. 

Whether  the  work  will  be  flatteringly  received,  or  shall 
"  drop  still-born  from  the  press,"  although  of  some  concern  to 
the  author,  is  an  event  on  which  his  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
mind  does  not  depend.  A  recollection,  that  the  good  opinion  of 
the  world  is  dependent  on  a  thousand  accidental  circumstances — 
is  often  "  obtained  without  merit,  and  lost  without  crime,"  affords 
considerations  that  neither  hope  nor  fear  can  disturb.  But  that 
it  shall  be  so  far  charitably  received  and  patronised,  as  to  afford 
advantages  to  the  children  of  a  friend,  is  desired.  Their  father 
is  no  more !  but,  as  his  representatives,  they  have  claims  of  no 
common  kind  on  the  liberality  of  the  public.  A  character  un- 
stained by  dishonour,  and  without  reproach;  a  firmness  un- 
shaken, and  devotion  to  his  country,  are  the  inheritance  he  has 


PREFACE.  VII 

left  them.  He  was  no  inactive  spectator  of  the  trying  scenes 
that  are  past.  When  danger  threatened,  he  was  foremost  to 
meet  it.  Throughout  the  prosecution  of  the  southern  war,  in  the 
capacity  of  aid  to  the  commanding  general,  he  was  active  and 
valiant.  Nor  can  any  stronger  evidence  be  furnished  of  his 
capacity,  unquestioned  merit,  and  distinguished  services  render- 
ed, than  that  during  the  whole  period,  he  carried  with  him  the 
entire  confidence  and  friendship  of  his  general. 

It  was  desirable  to  avoid  in  the  narrative,  all  those  circum- 
stances in  which  general  Jackson  was  not  directly  concerned ; 
but  as  the  design  of  the  original  author  was  to  give  a  complete 
history  of  the  southern  war,  that  plan  has  been  pursued,  and 
some  events  briefly  adverted  to,  in  which  the  general  had  no 
immediate  agency. 

The  work,  however,  such  as  it  is,  is  submitted  to  the  public ; 
and  nothing  either  of  charity  or  favour,  supplicated  in  its  be- 
half. The  matter  is  important,  and  the  manner  of  presenting  it, 
if  defective,  may  at  least  prove  serviceable  to  some  future  his- 
torian. 

JOHN  H.  EATON. 


THE  LIFE 


OF 


CHAPTER  I. 

His  birth,  parentage,  family,  and  education. — Engages  in  the  American 
re-volution,  and  is  shortly  after,  'with  his  brother,  made  a  prisoner. — 
Their  treatment  and  sufferings. — Commences  the  study  of  law. — His 
removal  to  the  western  country. — Anecdote. — Becomes  a  member  of  the 
Tennessee  convention,  and  afterwards  a  senator  in  the  United  States' 
congress. — Retires,  and  is  appointed  a  judge  of  the  state  courts. — De- 
claration of  war. — Tenders  the  services  of  2500  volunteers  to  the  pre- 
sident.— Ordered  to  the  lower  country. — His  descent  and  return,  and 
discharge  of  the  troops. 

ANDREW  JACKSON  was  born  on  the  15th  day  of  March, 
1767.  His  father,  (Andrew)  the  youngest  son  of  his 
family,  emigrated  to  America  from  Ireland  during  the 
year  1765,  bringing  with  him  two  sons,  Hugh  and  Ro- 
bert, both  very  young.  Landing  at  Charleston,  in 
South  Carolina,  he  shortly  afterwards  purchased  a 
tract  of  land,  in  what  was  then  called  the  Waxsaw 
settlement,  about  forty-five  miles  above  Camden;  at 
which  place  the  subject  of  this  history  was  born.  Short- 
ly after  his  birth,  his  father  died,  leaving  three  sons  to 


10  LIFE    OP    GENERAL   JACKSON. 

be  provided  for  by  their  mother.  She  appears  to  have 
been  an  exemplary  woman,  and  to  have  executed  the 
arduous  duties  which  had  devolved  on  her,  with  great 
faithfulness  and  with  much  success.  To  the  lessons 
she  inculcated  on  the  youthful  minds  of  her  sons,  was, 
no  doubt,  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  that  fixed  oppo- 
sition to  British  tyranny  and  oppression,  which  after- 
wards so  much  distinguished  them.  Often  would  she 
spend  the  winter's  evenings,  in  recounting  to  them  the 
sufferings  of  their  grandfather,  at  the  siege  of  Car- 
rickfergus,  and  the  oppression  exercised  by  the  no- 
bility of  Ireland,  over  the  labouring  poor ;  impressing 
it  upon  them,  as  a  first  duty,  to  expend  their  lives,  if 
it  should  become  necessary,  in  defending  and  support- 
ing the  natural  rights  of  man. 

Inheriting  but  a  small  patrimony  from  their  father, 
it  was  impossible  that  all  the  sons  could  receive  an  ex- 
pensive education.  The  two  eldest  were  therefore 
only  taught  the  rudiments  of  their  mother  tongue,  at 
a  common  country  school.  But  Andrew,  being  intend- 
ed by  his  mother  for  the  ministry,  was  sent  to  a  flou- 
rishing academy  at  the  Waxsaw  meeting  house,  super- 
intended by  Mr.  Humphries.  Here  he  was  placed  on 
the  study  of  the  dead  languages,  and  continued  until 
the  revolutionary  war  extending  its  ravages  into  that 
section  of  South  Carolina,  where  he  then  was,  render- 
ed it  necessary  that  every  one  should  betake  himself 
to  the  American  standard,  seek  protection  with  the 
enemy,  or  flee  his  country.  It  was  not  an  alternative 
that  admitted  of  tedious  deliberation.  The  natural  ar- 
dor of  his  temper,  deriving  encouragement  from  the 
recommendations  of  his  mother,  whose  feelings  were 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  1 1 

cited  by  those  sentiments  in  favor  of  liberty,  with 
which,  by  her  conversation,  his  mind  had  been  early 
endued,  quickly  determined  him  in  the  course  to  be 
pursued ;  and  at  the  tender  age  of  fourteen,  accompa- 
nied by  his  brother  Robert,  he  hastened  to  the  Ameri- 
can camp,  and  engaged  actively,  in  the  service  of  his 
country.  His  oldest  brother,  who  had  previously  joined 
the  army,  had  lost  his  life  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  from 
the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather,  and  the  fatigues  of 
the  day. 

Both  Andrew  and  Robert,  were,  at  this  period, 
pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  manual  exercise,  and 
had  some  idea  of  the  different  evolutions  of  the  field, 
having  been  indulged  by  their  mother  in  attending  the 
drill  and  general  musters  of  the  neighbourhood. 

The  Americans  being  unequal,  as  well  from  the  in- 
feriority of  their  numbers,  as  their  discipline,  to  en- 
gage the  British  army  in  battle,  had  retired  before  it, 
into  the  interior  of  North  Carolina;  but  when  they 
learned,  that  lord  Cornwallis  had  crossed  the  Yadkin, 
they  returned  in  small  detachments  to  their  native 
state.  On  their  arrival,  they  found  lord  Rawdon  in 
possession  of  Camden,  and  the  whole  country  around 
in  a  state  of  desolation.  The  British  commander  being- 
advised  of  the  return  of  the  settlers  of  Waxsaw,  ma- 
jor Coffin  was  immediately  despatched  thither,  with  a 
corps  of  light  dragoons,  a  company  of  infantry,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  tories,  for  their  capture  and 
destruction.  Hearing  of  their  approach,  the  settlers, 
without  delay,  appointed  the  Waxsaw  meeting  house 
as  a  place  of  rendezvous,  that  they  might  the  better 


12  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

collect  their  scattered  strength,  and  concert  some  sys- 
tem of  operations.  About  forty  of  them  had  according- 
ly assembled  at  this  point,  when  the  enemy  approach- 
ed, keeping  the  tories,  who  were  dressed  in  the  com- 
mon garb  of  the  country,  in  front,  whereby  this  little 
band  of  patriots  was  completely  deceived,  having  taken 
them  for  captain  Nisbet's  company,  in  expectation  of 
which  they  had  been  waiting.  Eleven  of  them  were 
taken  prisoners ;  the  rest  with  difficulty  fled,  scatter- 
ing and  betaking  themselves  to  the  woods  for  conceal- 
ment. Of  those  who  thus  escaped,  though  closely 
pursued,  were  Andrew  Jackson  and  his  brother,  who, 
entering  a  secret  bend  in  a  creek,  that  was  close  at 
hand,  obtained  a  momentary  respite  from  danger,  and 
avoided,  for  the  night,  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  The 
next  day,  however,  having  gone  to  a  neighbouring 
house,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  something  to  eat, 
they  were  broken  in  upon,  and  made  prisoners,  by 
Coffin's  dragoons,  and  a  party  of  tories  who  accompa- 
nied them.  Those  young  men,  with  a  view  to  secu- 
rity, had  placed  their  horses  in  the  wood,  on  the  mar- 
gin of  a  small  creek,  and  posted,  on  the  road  which 
led  by  the  house,  a  sentinel,  that  they  might  have  in- 
formation of  any  approach,  and  in  time  to  be  able  to 
elude  it.  But  the  tories,  who  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  country  and  the  passes  through  the  forest, 
had,  unfortunately,  passed  the  creek  at  the  very  point 
where  the  horses  and  baggage  of  our  young  soldiers 
were  deposited,  and  taken  possession  of  them.  Having 
done  this,  they  approached  cautiously,  the  house,  and 
were  almost  at  the  door  before  they  were  discovered. 
To  escape  was  impossible,  and  both  were  made  prison- 
ers. Being  placed  under  guard,  Andrew  was  ordered, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  13 

in  a  very  imperious  tone,  by  a  British  officer,  to  clean 
his  boots,  which  had  become  muddied  in  crossing  the 
creek.  This  order  he  positively  and  peremptorily 
refused  to  obey;  alleging  that  he  looked  for  such 
treatment  as  a  prisoner  of  war  had  a  right  to  expect. 
Incensed  at  his  refusal,  the  officer  aimed  a  blow  at  his 
head  with  a  drawn  sword,  which  would,  very  probably, 
have  terminated  his  existence,  had  he  not  parried  its 
effects  by  throwing  up  his  left  hand,  on  which  he  re- 
ceived a  severe  wound,  the  mark  of  which  he  bears 
to  this  hour.  His  brother,  at  the  same  time,  for  a 
similar  offence,  received  a  deep  cut  on  the  head,  which 
subsequently  occasioned  his  death.  They  were  both 
now  taken  to  jail,  where,  separated  and  confined, 
they  were  treated  with  marked  severity,  until  a  few 
days  after  the  battle  before  Camden,  when,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  partial  exchange,  effected  by  the  inter- 
cessions and  exertions  of  their  mother,  and  captain 
Walker,  of  the  militia,  they  were  both  released  from 
confinement.  Captain  Walker  had,  in  a  charge  on  the 
rear  of  the  British  army,  succeeded  in  making  thirteen 
prisoners,  whom  he  gave  in  exchange  for  seven  Ameri- 
cans, of  which  number  were  these  two  young  men. 
Robert,  during  his  confinement  in  prison,  had  suffered 
greatly ;  the  wound  on  his  head,  all  this  time,  having 
never  been  dressed,  was  followed  by  an  inflammation 
of  the  brain,  which,  in  a  few  days  after  his  liberation, 
brought  him  to  the  grave.  To  add  to  the  afflictions 
of  Andrew,  his  mother,  worn  down  by  grief,  and  her 
incessant  exertions  to  provide  clothing  and  other  com- 
forts for  the  suffering  prisoners,  who  had  been  taken 
from  her  neighbourhood,  expired  in  a  few  weeks  after 
her  son,  near  the  lines  of  the  enemv^  in.  the  vicinity 


14  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

of  Charleston.  Andrew,  the  last  and  only  surviving 
child,  confined  to  a  bed  of  sickness,  occasioned  by  the 
sufferings  he  had  been  compelled  to  undergo,  whilst 
a  prisoner,  and  by  getting  wet,  on  his  return  from 
captivity,  was  thus  left  in  the  wide  world,  without  a 
human  being  with  whom  he  could  claim  a  near  re- 
lationship. The  small  pox,  about  the  same  time,  having 
made  its  appearance  upon  him,  had  well  nigh  termi- 
nated his  sorrows  and  his  existence. 

Having  at  length  recovered  from  his  complicated 
afflictions,  he  entered  upon  the  enjoyment  of  his  estate, 
which,  although  small,  would  have  been  sufficient, 
under  prudent  management,  to  have  completed  his 
education,  on  the  liberal  scale  which  his  mother  had 
designed.  Unfortunately,  however,  he,  like  too  many 
young  men,  sacrificing  future  prospects  to  present 
gratification,  expended  it  with  rather  too  profuse  a 
hand.  Coming,  at  length,  to  foresee  that  he  should 
be  finally  obliged  to  rely  on  his  own  exertions,  for 
support  and  success  in  life,  he  again  betook  himself  to 
his  studies  with  increased  industry.  He  re-commenced 
under  Mr.  M'Culloch,  in  that  part  of  Carolina  which 
was  then  called  the  New  Acquisition,  near  Hill's  iron 
works.  Here  he  revised  the  languages,  devoting  a 
portion  of  his  time  to  a  desultory  course  of  studies. 

His  education  being  now  completed,  so  far  as  his 
wasted  patrimony,  and  the  limited  opportunities  then 
afforded  in  that  section  of  the  country,  would  permit, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  turned  his  attention  to  ac- 
quiring a  profession,  and  in  preparing  himself  to  enter 
on  the  busy  scenes  of  life.  The.  pulpit,  for  which  he 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  15 

had  been  designed  by  his  mother,  was  now  abandoned 
for  the  bar;  and,  in  the  winter  of  1784,  he  repaired  to 
Salisbury,  in  North  Carolina,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law,  under  Spruce  M'Cay,  Esq.  (afterwards 
one  of  the  judges  of  that  state,)  and  subsequently 
continued  it  under  colonel  John  Stokes.  Having  re- 
mained at  Salisbury  until  the  winter  of  1786,  he  ob- 
tained a  license  from  the  judges  to  practice  law,  and 
continued  in  the  state  until  the  spring  of  1788. 

i 

The  observations  he  was  enabled,  during  this  time, 
to  make,  satisfied  him  that  this  state  presented  few 
inducements  to  a  young  attorney;  and  recollecting  that 
he  stood  a  solitary  individual  in  life,  without  relations 
to  aid  him  in  the  onset,  when  innumerable  difficulties 
arise  and  retard  success,  he  determined  to  seek  a  new 
country.  But  for  this,  he  might  have  again  returned 
to  his  native  state ;  the  death,  however,  of  every  re- 
lation he  had,  had  wiped  away  all  those  endearing  re- 
collections and  circumstances  which  warp  the  mind 
to  the  place  of  its  nativity.  The  western  parts  of  the 
state  of  Tennessee  were,  about  this  time,  often  spoken 
of,  as  presenting  flattering  prospects  to  adventurers. 
He  immediately  determined  to  accompany  judge 
M'Nairy  thither,  who  had  been  appointed,  and  was 
going  out  to  hold  the  first  supreme  court  that  had 
ever  sat  in  the  state.  Having  reached  the  Holston, 
they  ascertained  it  would  be  impossible  to  arrive  at  the 
time  appointed  for  the  session  of  the  court;  and  there- 
fore determined  to  remain  in  that  section  of  country 
until  fall.  They  re-commenced  their  journey  in  Oc- 
tober, and  passing  through  an  extensive  uninhabited 
country,  reached  Nashville  in  the  same  month.  It  had 


16  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

not  been  Jackson's  intention,  certainly,  to  make  Ten- 
nessee the  place  of  his  future  residence;  his  visit  was 
merely  experimental,  and  his  stay  remained  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  advantages  that  might  be  disclosed  ; 
but  finding,  soon  after  his  arrival,  that  a  considerable 
opening  was  offered  for  the  success  of  a  young  attor- 
ney, he  determined  to  remain.  To  one  of  refined 
feelings,  the  prospect  before  him  was,  certainly,  not 
of  an  encouraging  cast  As  in  all  newly  settled  coun- 
tries must  be  the  case,  society  was  loosely  formed,  and 
united  by  but  few  of  those  ties  which  have  a  tendency 
to  enforce  the  performance  of  moral  duty,  and  the  right 
execution  of  justice.  The  young  men  of  the  place, 
adventurers  from  different  sections  of  the  country,  had 
become  indebted  to  the  merchants ;  there  was  but  one 
lawyer  in  the  country,  and  they  had  so  contrived, 
as  to  retain  him  in  their  business ;  the  consequence 
was,  that  the  merchants  were  entirely  deprived  of 
the  means  of  enforcing  against  those  gentlemen  the 
execution  of  their  contracts.  In  this  state  of  things 
Jackson  made  his  appearance  at  Nashville,  and  while 
the  creditor  class  looked  to  it  with  great  satisfaction, 
the  debtors  were  sorely  displeased.  Applications  were 
immediately  made  to  him  for  his  professional  services, 
and  on  the  morning  after  his  arrival  he  issued  seventy 
writs.  To  those  prodigal  gentlemen,  it  was  an  alarm- 
ing circumstance ;  their  former  security  was  impaired; 
but  that  it  might  not  wholly  depart,  they  determined 
to  force  him,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  leave  the  coun- 
try ;  and  to  effect  this,  broils  and  quarrels  with  him 
were  to  be  resorted  to.  This,  however,  was  soon 
abandoned,  satisfied,  by  the  first  controversy  in  which 
they  had  involved  him,  that  his  decision  and  firmness 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  17 

was  such  as  to  leave  no  hope  of  effecting  any  thing 
through  this  channel.  Disregarding  the  opposition 
raised  to  him,  he  continued,  with  care  and  industry, 
to  press  forward  in  his  professional  course,  and  his  at- 
tention soon  brought  him  forward,  and  introduced  him 
to  a  profitable  practice.  Shortly  afterwards,  he  was 
appointed  attorney  general  for  the  district,  in  which 
capacity  he  continued  to  act  for  several  years. 

Indian  depredations  being  then  frequent  on  the 
Cumberland,  every  man,  of  necessity,  became  a  soldier. 
Unassisted  by  the  government,  the  settlers  were  forced 
to  rely  for  security  on  their  own  bravery  and  exertions. 
Although  young,  no  person  was  more  distinguished 
than  Andrew  Jackson,  in  defending  the  country  against 
these  predatory  incursions  of  the  savages,  who  con- 
tinually harassed  the  frontiers,  and  not  unfrequently 
approached  the  heart  of  the  settlements,  which  were 
thin,  but  not  widely  extended.  He  aided  alike  in  garri- 
soning the  forts,  and  in  pursuing  and  chastising  the 
enemy. 

In  the  year  1796,  having,  by  his  patriotism,  firmness, 
and  talents,  secured  to  himself  a  distinguished  standing 
with  all  classes,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  members 
of  the  convention,  for  establishing  a  constitution  for 
the  state.  His  good  conduct  and  zeal  for  the  public 
interest,  and  the  republican  feelings  and  sentiments 
which  were  conspicuously  disclosed  in  the  formation 
and  arrangement  of  this  instrument,  brought  him  more 
prominently  to  view;  and,  without  proposing  or  so- 
liciting, he  was,  in  the  same  year,  elected  a  member 
of  the  house  of  representatives,  in  congress,  for  the 

€ 


18  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

state  of  Tennessee.  The  following  year,  his  reputa- 
tion continuing  to  increase,  and  every  bosom  feeling  a 
wish  to  raise  him  to  still  higher  honours,  he  was  chosen 
a  senator  of  the  United  States  congress,  and  took  his 
seat  on  the  22d  day  of  November,  1797.  About  the 
middle  of  April,  business  of  an  important  and  private 
nature,  imposed  on  him  the  necessity  of  asking  leave 
of  absence,  and  returning  home.  Leave  was  granted, 
and  before  the  next  session  he  resigned  his  seat.  He 
was  but  a  little  more  than  thirty  years  of  age,  and 
hence,  scarcely  eligible,  by  the  constitution,  at  the 
time  he  was  elected.  The  sedition  law,  about  which 
*o  much  concern  and  feeling  has  been  manifested 
through  the  country,  was  introduced  into  the  senate, 
by  Mr.  Lloyd,  of  Maryland,  in  June,  and  passed  that 
body  On  the  4th  of  July  following ;  hence  the  name  of 
Jackson,  owing  to  the  leave  of  absence  which  had  been 
granted  him  in  April,  does  not  appear  on  the  journals. 
On  the  alien  law,  however,  and  the  effort  to  repeal  the 
stamp  act,  he  was  present,  resting  in  the  minority,  and 
on  the  side  of  the  Republican  principles  of  the  coun- 
try.* 

The  state  of  Tennessee,  on  its  admission  into  the 
Union,  comprising  but  one  military  division,  and  gene- 
ral Conwayy  who  commanded  it,  as  major-general, 

*  The  names  of  those  senators  who  voted  for  a  repeal  of  the  alien 
and  stamp  acts,  so  obnoxious  to  the  republicans  of  this  country,  at  the 
session  of  1798,  were  Anderson,  Bloodworth,  Brown,  Foster,  Green, 
Jackson,  Langdon,  Livermore,  Martin,  Mason,  Tazewell.  Against  the 
repeal,  Chapman,  Clayton,  Goodhue,  Hillhouse,  Howard,  Latimer, 
Lawrence,  Lloyd,  North,  Paine,  Read,  Rutherford,  Sedgwick,  Stock. 
ton,  Tracy. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON,  19 

dying  about  this  time,  Jackson,  without  being  consult- 
ed on  the  subject,  and  without  the  least  intimation  of 
what  was  in  agitation,  was,  as  the  constitution  of  the 
state  directs,  chosen  by  the  field  officers,  to  succeed 
him;  which  appointment  he  continued  to  hold  until 
May,  1814,  when  he  was  constituted  a  major-general 
in  the  United  States'  service. 

Becoming  tired  of  political  life,  for  the  intrigues  of 
which  he  declared  fiimself  unqualified,  and  having  for 
two  years  voted'in  the  minority  in  congress,  he  resign- 
ed, after  the  first  session,  his  seat  in  the  senate.     To 
this  measure  lie  was  strongly  induced,  from  a  desire  to 
make  way  for  general  Smith,  who,  he  conjectured, 
would,  in  that  capacity,  be  able  to  render  more  im- 
portant services  to  the  government  than  himself.  His 
country,  unwilling  that  his  talents  should  remain  in- 
active and  unemployed,  again  demanded  his  services. 
Immediately  after  his  resignation,  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state. 
Sensibly  alive  to  the  difficult  duties  of  this  station, 
distrusting  his  legal  acquirements,  and  impressed  with 
the  great  injury  he  might  produce  to  suitors,  by  erro- 
neous decisions,  he  advanced  to  the  office  with  re- 
luctance, and  in  a  short  time  resigned,  leaving  it  open 
for  those,  who,  he  believed,  were  better  qualified  than 
himself,  to  discharge  its  intricate  and  important  duties. 
Unambitious  of  those  distinctions  and  honors  which 
young  men  are  usually  proud  to  possess;  finding  too, 
that  his  circumstances  and  condition  in  life,  were  not 
such  as  to  permit  his  time  and  attention  to  be  devoted 
to  public  matters,  he  determined  to  yield  them  into 
others'  hands,  and  to  devote  himself  to  agricultural 


20  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

pursuits ;  and  accordingly  settled  himself  on  an  excel- 
lent farm,  ten  miles  from  Nashville,  on  the  Cumber- 
land river ;  where,  for  several  years,  he  enjoyed  all  the 
comforts  of  domestic  and  social  intercourse.  Abstract- 
ed from  the  busy  scenes  of  public  life,  pleased  with 
retirement,  surrounded  by  friends  whom  he  loved,  and 
who  entertained  for  him  the  highest  veneration  and 
respect,  and  blessed  with  an  amiable  and  affectionate 
consort,  nothing  seemed  wanting  to  the  completion  of 
that  happiness  which  he  so  anxiously  desired  whilst 
in  office. 

But  a  period  approached,  when  all  these  endear- 
ments were  again  to  be  abandoned,  for  the  duties  of 
more  active  life.  Great  Britain,  by  multiplied  out- 
rages on  our  rights,  as  an  independent  and  neutral 
nation,  had  provoked  from  our  government  a  declara- 
tion of  war  against  her.  This  measure,  though  founded 
in  abundant  cause,  had  been  long  forborne,  and  every 
attempt  at  conciliation  made,  without  effect :  when,  at 
length,  it  was  resorted  to,  as  the  only  alternative  that 
could  preserve  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  nation, 
General  Jackson,  ever  devoted  to  the  interest  of  his 
country,  from  the  moment  of  the  declaration,  knew 
no  wish  so  strong  as  that  of  entering  into  her  service, 
against  a  power,  which,  independent  of  public  con- 
siderations, he  had  many  private  reasons  for  disliking. 
In  her,  he  could  trace  sufferings  and  injuries  received, 
and  the  efficient  cause,  why,  in  early  life,  he  had  been 
left  forlorn  and  wretched,  without  a  single  relation  in 
the  world.  His  proud  and  inflexible  mind,  however, 
could  not  venture  to  solicit  an  appointment  in  the  army, 
which  was  about  to  be  raised.  He  accordingly  remained 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  21 

wholly  unknown,  until,  at  the  head  of  the  militia,  em- 
ployed against  the  Creek  Indians,  his  constant  vigi- 
lance, and  the  splendour  of  his  victories,  apprised  the 
general  government  of  those  great  military  talents 
which  he  so  eminently  possessed,  and  conspicuously 
displayed,  when  opportunities  for  exerting  them  were 
afforded. 

The  acts  of  congress,  Of  the  6th  of  February,  and 
July,  1812,  afforded  the  means  of  bringing  into  view 
a  display  of  those  powers,  which,  being  unknown,  un- 
der other  circumstances,  unfortunately,  might  have 
slumbered  in  inaction.  Under  the  authority  of  these 
acts,  authorizing  the  president  to  accept  the  services 
of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  he  addressed  the  citizens 
of  his  division,  and  twenty-five  hundred  flocked  to  his 
standard.  A  tender  of  them  having  been  made,  and  the 
offer  accepted,  in  November  he  received  orders  to 
place  himself  at  their  head  and  to  descend  the  Mis- 
sissippi, for  the  defence  of  the  lower  country,  which 
was  then  supposed  to  be  in  danger.  Accordingly,  on 
the  10th  of  December,  those  troops  rendezvoused  at 
Nashville,  prepared  to  advance  to  the  place  of  their 
destination ;  and,  although  the  weather  was  then  exces- 
sively severe,  and  the  ground  covered  with  snow,  no 
troops  could  have  displayed  greater  firmness.  The 
general  was  every  where  with  them,  inspiring  them 
with  the  ardour  that  animated  his  own  bosom.  The 
cheerful  spirit  with  which  they  submitted  to  hard- 
ships, and  bore  privations,  on  the  very  onset  of  their 
military  career,  as  well  as  the  order  and  subordination 
they  so  readily  observed,  were  happy  presages  of 


22  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

what  was  to  be  expected,  when  they  should  be  direct- 
ed to  face  an  enemy. 

Having  procured  supplies,  and  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  an  active  campaign,  they  proceeded, 
the  7th  of  January,  on  their  journey ;  and,  descending 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  through  cold  and  ice,  arrived, 
and  halted  at  Natchez.     Here  Jackson  had  been  in- 
structed to  remain,  until  he  should  receive  further 
orders.   Having  chosen  a  healthy  site  for  the  encamp- 
ment of  his  troops,  about  two  miles  from  Washington, 
he  devoted  his  time,  with  the  utmost  industry,  to  train- 
ing and  preparing  them  for  active  service.  The  clouds 
of  war,  however,  in.  that  quarter,  having  blown  over, 
an  order  was  received  from  the  secretary  of  war, 
dated  the  5th  of  January,  directing  him,  on  the  re- 
ceipt thereof,  to  dismiss  those  under  his  command, 
from  service,  and  to  take  measures  for  delivering  over 
every  article  of  public  property,  in  his  possession,  to 
brigadier  general  Wilkinson.     When  this  order  reach- 
ed his  camp,  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  on  the 
sick  report,  fifty-six  of  whom  were  unable  to  raise 
their  heads,  and  almost  the  whole  of  them  destitute  of 
the  means  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  their  return. 
The  consequence  of  a  strict  compliance  with  the  se- 
cretary's order,  inevitably  wrould  have  been,  that  many 
of  the  sick  must  have  perished,  whilst  most  of  the 
others,  from  their  destitute  condition  would,  of  neces- 
sity, have  been  compelled  to  enlist  in  the  regular 
army,  under  general  Wilkinson.      Such  alternatives 
were  neither  congenial  with  their  general's  wished, 
nor  such  as  they  had  expected,  on  adventuring  with 
him  in  the  service  of  their  country ;  he  had  carried 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  23 

them  from  home,  and,  the  fate  of  war  and  disease  apart, 
it  was  his  duty,  he  believed,  to  bring  them  back.  Whe- 
ther an  expectation  that,  by  this  plan,  many  of  them 
would  be  compelled  into  the  regular  ranks,  had  form- 
ed any  part  of  the  motive  that  occasioned  the  order 
for  their  discharge,  at  so  great  a  distance  from  home, 
cannot  be  known;  and  it  would  be  uncharitable  to  in- 
sinuate against  the  government  so  serious  and  foul  an 
accusation,  without  the  strongest  evidence  to  support 
it.  Be  this  as  it  may,  general  Jackson  could  not  think 
of  sacrificing  or  injuring  an  army  that  had  shown  such 
devotedness  to  their  country ;  and  he  determined  to 
disregard  the  order,  and  march  them  again  to  their 
homes,  where  they  had  been  embodied,  rather  than 
discharge  them  where  they  would  be  exposed  to  the 
greatest  hardships  and  dangers.  To  this  measure  he 
was  prompted,  not  only  by  the  reasons  already  men- 
tioned, but  by  the  consideration,  that  many  of  the 
troops  under  his  command  were  young  men,  the  chil- 
dren of  his  neighbours  and  acquaintances,  who  had 
delivered  them  into  his  hands,  as  to  a  guardian,  who, 
with  parental  solicitude,  would  watch  over  and  protect 
their  welfare.  To  have  abandoned  them,  therefore,  at 
such  a  time,  and  under  such  circumstances,  would 
have  drawn  on  him  the  merited  censure  of  the  most 
deserving  part  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  sensibly 
wounded  his  own  generous  feelings.  Add  to  this,  those 
young  men  who  were  confined  by  sickness,  learning 
the  nature  of  the  order  he  had  received,  implored  him, 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  not  to  abandon  them  in  so 
great  an  extremity,  reminding  him,  at  the  same  time, 
of  his  assurances,  that  he  would  be  to  them  as  a  father; 
and  of  the  implicit  confidence  they  had  placed  in  his 


24  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

word.  This  was  an  appeal,  which  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  the  feelings  of  Jackson  to  have  resisted, 
had  it  been  without  the  support  of  other  weighty  con- 
siderations ;  but,  influenced  by  them  all,  he  had  no 
hesitation  in  coming  to  a  determination. 

Having  made  known  his  resolution  to  the  field  offi- 
cers of  his  division,  it  met,  apparently,  their  approba- 
tion ;  but,  after  retiring  from  his  presence,  they  assem- 
bled late  at  night,  in  secret  caucus,  arid  proceeded  to 
recommend  to  him  an  abandonment  of  his  purpose, 
and  an  immediate  discharge  of  his  troops.  Great  as 
was  the  astonishment,  which  this  measure  excited  in 
the  general,  it  produced  a  still  higher  sentiment  of  in- 
dignation. In  reply,  he  urged  the  duplicity  of  their 
conduct,  and  reminded  them,  that  although  to  those 
who  possessed  funds  and  health,  such  a  course  could 
produce  no  inconvenience,  yet  to  the  unfortunate  sol- 
dier, who  was  alike  destitute  of  both,  no  measure  could 
be  more  calamitous.  He  concluded  by  telling  them, 
that  his  resolution  not  having  been  hastily  concluded 
on,  nor  bottomed  on  light  considerations,  was  unalter- 
ably fixed ;  and  that  immediate  preparations  must  be 
made  for  carrying  into  execution  the  determination 
he  had  formed. 

He  lost  no  time  in  making  known  to  the  secretary 
of  war  the  resolution  he  had  adopted;  to  disregard 
the  order  he  had  given,  and  to  return  his  army  to  the 
place  where  he  haxl  received  it.  He  painted  in  strong 
terms  the  evils  which  the  course  pursued  by  the  go- 
vernment was  calculated  to  produce,  and  expressed 
the  astonishment  he  felt,  that  it  should  have  originated 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  25 

with  the  famous  author  of  the  "  Newburg  Letters,"  the 
once  redoubted  advocate  of  soldiers'  rights. 

General  Wilkinson,  to  whom  the  public  property 
was  directed  to  be  delivered,  learning  the  determina- 
tion which  had  been  taken  by  Jackson,  to  march  his 
troops  back,  and  to  take  with  them  so  much  of  that 
property  as  should  be  necessary  to  their  return,  in  a 
letter  of  solemn  and  mysterious  import,  admonished 
him  of  the  consequences  which  were  before  him,  and 
of  the  awful  and  dangerous  responsibility  he  wras  taking 
on  himself,  by  so  bold  a  measure.  General  Jackson 
replied,  that  his  conduct,  and  the  consequences  to 
which  it  might  lead,  had  been  deliberately  weighed, 
and  well  considered,  and  that  he  was  prepared  to 
abide  the  result,  whatever  it  might  be.  Wilkinson  had 
previously  given  orders  to  his  officers,  to  recruit  from 
Jackson's  army ;  they  were  advised,  however,  on  their 
first  appearance,  that  those  troops  were  already  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  and  that  thus  situated, 
they  should  not  be  enlisted ;  and  that  he  would  arrest 
and  confine  the  first  officer  who  dared  to  enter  his 
encampment  with  any  such  object  in  view. 

The  quarter-master,  having  been  ordered  to  furnish 
the  necessary  transportation,  for  the  conveyance  of 
the  sick  and  the  baggage  to  Tennessee,  immediately 
set  about  the  performance  of  the  task;  but,  as  the 
event  proved,  with  not  the  least  intention  of  executing 
it.  Still,  he  continued  to  keep  up  the  semblance  of 
exertion ;  and  the  better  to  deceive,  the  very  day  be- 
fore that  which  had  been  appointed  for  breaking  up 
the  encampment,  and  commencing  the  return  march, 


20  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOft, 

eleven  wagons  arrived  there  by  his  order.  The  next 
morning,  however,  when  every  thing  was  about  to  be 
packed  up,  acting  doubtless  from  orders,  and  intending 
to  produce  embarrassment,  the  quarter-master  entered 
the  encampment,  and  discharged  the  whole.  He  was 
grossly  mistaken  in  the  man  he  had  to  deal  with,  and 
had  now  played  his  tricks  too  far  to  be  able  to  ac- 
complish the  object  which  he  had,  no  doubt,  been  in- 
structed to  effect.  Disregarding  their  dismissal,  so 
evidently  designed  to  prevent  his  marching  back  his 
men,  general  Jackson  seized  upon  these  wagons,  yet 
within  his  lines,  and  compelled  them  to  proceed  to  the 
transportation  of  his  sick.  It  deserves  to  be  recollected, 
that  this  quarter-master,  so  soon  as  he  received  direc- 
tions for  furnishing  transportation,  had  despatched  an 
express  to  general  Wilkinson :  and  there  can  be  but 
little  doubt,  that  the  course  of  duplicity  he  afterwards 
pursued,  was  a  concerted  plan  between  him  and  that 
general,  to  defeat  the  design  of  Jackson ;  compel  him 
to  abandon  the  course  he  had  adopted ;  and,  in  this 
way,  draw  to  the  regular  army  many  of  the  soldiers, 
who,  from  necessity,  would  be  driven  to  enlist.  In 
this  attempt,  they  were  fortunately  disappointed.  Ad* 
hering  to  his  original  purpose,  he  successfully  resisted 
every  stratagem  of  Wilkinson,  and  marched  the  whole 
of  his  division  to  the  section  of  country  whence  they 
had  been  drawn,  and  dismissed  them  from  service,  as 
he  had  been  instructed. 

To  present  an  example  that  might  buoy  up  the 
sinking  spirits  of  his  troops,  in  the  long  and  arduous 
march  before  them,  he  yielded  up  his  horses  to  the 
sick,  and  trudging  on  foot,  encountered  all  the  hard- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  27 

ships  that  were  met  by  the  soldiers*  It  was  at  a  time 
of  year  when  the  roads  were  extremely  bad>  and  the 
swamps,  lying  in  their  passage,  deep  and  full;  yet, 
under  these  circumstances,  he  placed  before  his  troops 
an  example  of  patience  and  hardship  that  lulled  to 
silence  all  complaints,  and  won  to  him,  still  stronger 
than  before,  the  esteem  and  respect  of  every  one-  On 
arriving  at  Nashville,  he  communicated  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  the  course  he  had  pursued, 
and  the  reasons  that  had  induced  it.  If  it  had  become 
necessary,  he  had  sufficient  grounds  on  which  he  could 
have  justified  his  conduct.  Had  he  suffered  general 
Wilkinson  to  have  accomplished  what  was  clearly  his 
intention,  although  it  was  an  event  which  might,  at  the 
moment,  have  benefitted  the  service,  by  adding  an  in- 
creased strength  to  the  army,  yet  the  example  would 
have  been  of  so  serious  and  exceptionable  a  charac- 
ter, that  injury  would  have  been  the  final  and  unavoid- 
able result.  Whether  the  intention  of  thus  forcing 
these  men  to  enlist  into  the  regular  ranks,  had  its  ex- 
istence under  the  direction  of  the  government,  or  not, 
such  would  have  been  the  universal  belief;  and  all 
would  have  felt  a  deep  abhorrence,  at  beholding  the 
patriots  of  the  country  drawn  off  from  their  homes, 
under  pretence  of  danger,  whilst  the  concealed  design 
was,  by  increasing  their  necessities,  at  a  distance  from 
their  residence,  to  compel  them  to  an  act  which  they 
would  have  abstained  from  under  different  circum- 
stances. His  conduct,  terrible  as  it  first  appeared,  was 
in  the  end  approved,  and  the  expenses  incurred  di- 
rected to  be  paid  by  the  government 


CHAPTER  II. 

Indian  preparation  for  hostilities. — Tecumseh  arrives  amongst  the  southern 
tribes ;  his  intrigues. — Civil  wars  of  the  Creeks. — Destruction  of,  and 
butchery  at  Fort  Mimms. — Expedition  against  the  Indians.-— Jack- 
son unites  with  the  army,  and  enters  the  enemy's  country. — Scarcity  oj 
supplies  in  his  camp. — Learns  the  savages  are  embodied. — His  address 
to  his  troops. — Seeks  to  form  a  junction  with  the  East  Tennessee  di- 
vision. — Detaches  general  Coffee  across  the  Coosa. — Battle  of  Tallus- 
hatchee. 

THE  volunteers,  who  had  descended  the  river,  hav- 
ing been  discharged,  early  in  May,  there  was  little  ex- 
pectation that  they  w^ould  again  be  called  for.  Ten- 
nessee \vas  too  remotely  situated  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  to  expect  their  services  would  be  required 
for  her  defence,  and  hitherto  the  British  had  discover- 
ed no  serious  intention  of  waging  operations  against 
any  part  of  Louisiana.  Thjeir  repose,  however,  was 
not  of  long  duration.  The  (keek  Indians,  inhabiting 
the  country  lying  between  the  Chatahochee  and  Tom- 
bigbee,  and  extending  from  the  Tennessee  river  to  the 
Florida  line,  had  lately  manifested  strong  symptoms  of 
hostility  towards  the  United  States,  from  which  they 
had  received  yearly  pensions,  and  every  assistance 
which  the  most  liberal  policy  could  bestow.  This 
disposition  was  greatly  strengthened,  through  means 
used  by  the  northern  Indians,  who  were  then  making 
preparations  for  a  war  against  the  United  States,  and 
who  wished  to  engage  the  southern  tribes  in  the  same 
enterprise.  This  they  believed  to  be  of  great  im- 
portance ;  as,  by  assailing  the  whole  line  of  our  fron- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  29 

tiers  at  the  same  time,  they  would  be  able,  at  once,  to 
gratify  their  vengeance,  and  to  enrich  themselves  with 
plunder. 

An  artful  impostor  had,  about  this*  time,  sprung  up 
amongst  the  Shawnees,  who,  by  passing  for  a  prophet, 
commissioned  by  the  "  great  spirit)"  to  communicate 
his  mandates  and  assurances  to  his  red  children,  had 
acquired,  among  his  own  and  the  neighbouring  tribes, 
a  most  astonishing  influence.  Clothed,  as  they  believed 
him  to  be,  with  such  high  powers,  they  listened  to  his 
extravagant  doctrines,  and  in  them  fully  confided.  In 
a  little  time,  he  succeeded  in  kindling  a  phrenzy  and 
rage  against  the  Anglo-Americans,  which  soon  after 
burst  forth  in  acts  of  destructive  violence.  His  brother, 
Tecumseh,  who  became  so  famous  during  the  war,  and 
who  was  killed  subsequently,  at  the  battle  of  the 
Thames,  was  despatched  to  the  southern  tribes,  to  ex- 
cite in  them  the  same  temper.  To  the  Creeks,  as  by 
far  the  most  numerous  and  powerful,  as  well  as  the 
most  liable,  from  their  situation  and  habits,  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  his  suggestions,  he  directed  his  principal 
attention.  Having  entered  their  nation,  some  time  in 
the  spring  of  1812,  he  repaired  to  Tookaubatcha, 
where  he  had  repeated  conferences  with  the  chiefs ; 
but  not  meeting  with  the  encouragement  he  expected, 
he  returned  to  the  Alabama,  which  he  had  previously 
visited,  and  there  commenced  his  operations. 

Finding  here  several  leaders  of  great  influence,  who 
readily  entered  into  his  views,  he  was  enabled  to  carry 
on  his  schemes  with  greater  success.  Deriving  his 
powers  from  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  whose  extra- 


30  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

ordinary  commission  and  endowments  were,  previous 
to  this,  well  understood  by  all  the  neighbouring  tribes 
in  the  south,  his  authority  was  regarded  with  the 
highest  veneration.  He  strongly  interdicted  all  inter- 
course with  the  whites,  and  prevailed  on  the  greater 
part  of  the  Alabama  Indians  to  throw  aside  the  imple- 
ments and  clothing  which  that  intercourse  had  furnish- 
ed, and  return  again  to  their  savage  state,  from  which 
he  represented  them  as  highly  culpable  for  having  suf- 
fered themselves  to  be  estranged.  In  a  word,  no  means 
were  left  untried  to  excite  them  to  the  most  deadly 
animosity  and  cruel  war.  To  afford  additional  weight 
to  his  councils,  this  designing  missionary  gave  assu- 
rances of  aid  and  support  from  Great  Britain ;  whose 
power  and  riches  he  represented  as  almost  without 
limits,  and  quite  sufficient  for  the  subjugation  of  the 
United  States.  So  considerable  an  influence  did  his 
intrigues  and  discourses  obtain  over  the  minds  of  many, 
that  it  was  with  difficulty  the  most  turbulent  of  them 
could  be  restrained  from  running  immediately  to  arms, 
and  committing  depredations  on  the  exposed  frontiers. 
This  hasty  measure,  however,  he  represented  as  calcu- 
lated to  defeat  the  great  plan  of  operations  which  he 
was  labouring  to  concert ;  and  enjoined  the  utmost  se- 
crecy and  quietness,  until  the  moment  should  arrive, 
when,  all  their  preparations  being  ready,  they  might  be 
able  to  strike  a  general  and  decisive  blow ;  in  the  mean 
time,  they  were  to  be  industriously  employed  in  col- 
lecting arms  and  ammunition,  and  other  necessary  im- 
plements of  war. 

Having  ordained  a  chief  prophet,  whose  word  was 
to  be  regarded  as  infallible,  and  whose  directions  were 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  31 

to  be  implicitly  followed,  and  established  a  regular 
gradation  of  inferior  dependents,  to  disseminate  his 
doctrines  through  the  different  parts  of  the  nation, 
Tecumseh  set  out  to  his  own  tribe,  accompanied  by 
several  of  the  natives, 

From  this  time,  a  regular  communication  was  kept  up 
between  the  Creeks  and  the  northern  tribes,  in  relation 
to  the  great  enterprise  which  they  were  concerting 
together;  whilst  the  parties,  carrying  it  on,  committed 
frequent  depredations  on  the  frontier  settlers.  By  one 
of  these,  in  the  summer  of  1812,  several  families  had 
been  murdered  in  a  shocking  manner,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio ;  and  shortly  afterwards,  another  party, 
entering  the  limits  of  Tennessee,  under  circumstances 
of  still  greater  barbarity,  butchered  two  families  of 
women  and  children.  Similar  outrages  were  com- 
mitted on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  and  were  con- 
tinued, at  intervals,  on  the  inhabitants  of  Tennessee, 
along  her  southern  boundary. 

These  multiplied  outrages  at  length  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  general  government,  and  application 
was  made,  through  their  agent,  (colonel  Hawkins,)  to 
the  principal  chiefs  of  the  nation,  who,  desirous  of 
preserving  their  friendly  relations  with  the  United 
States,  resolved  to  punish  the  murderers  with  death ; 
and  immediately  appointed  a  party  of  warriors  to  carry 
their  determination  into  execution.  No  sooner  was 
this  done,  than  the  spirit  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
nation,  which,  from  policy,  had  been  kept  in  a  con- 
siderable degree,  dormant,  suddenly  burst  to  a  flame, 
and  kindled  into  civil  war. 


32  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

It  was  not  difficult  for  the  friends  of  those  murderers, 
who  had  been  put  to  death,  to  prevail  on  others,  who 
secretly  applauded  the  acts  for  which  they  suffered, 
to  enter  warmly  into  their  resentments  against  those 
who  had  been  concerned  in  bringing  them  to  pun- 
ishment. An  occasion,  as  they  believed,  was  now  pre- 
sented which  fully  authorized  them  to  throw  aside  all 
those  injunctions  of  secrecy,  with  regard  to  their  hos- 
tile intentions,  which  had  been  imposed  on  them  by 
Tecumseh  and  their  prophets.  This  restraint,  which, 
hitherto,  they  had  regarded  with  much  difficulty,  they 
now  resolved  to  lay  aside,  and  to  execute  at  once  their 
insatiate  and  long-projected  vengeance,  not  only  on 
the  white  people,  but  on  those  of  their  own  nation, 
whoy  by  this  last  act  of  retaliatory  justice,  had  unequi- 
vocally shown  a  disposition  to  preserve  their  friend- 
ship with  the  former.  The  cloak  of  concealment 
being  now  thrown  aside,  the  war  clubs*  were  immedi- 
ately seen  in  every  section  of  the  nation;  but  more 
particularly  among  the  numerous  hordes  residing  near 
the  Alabama.  Brandishing  these  in  their  hands,  they 
rushed,  in  the  first  instance,  on  those  of  their  own 
countrymen  who  had  shown  a  disposition  to  preserve 
their  relations  with  the  United  States,  and  obliged 
them  to  retire  towards  the  white  settlements,  and 
place  themselves  in  forts,  to  escape  the  first  ebulli- 
tion of  their  rage.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  and 

*  Instruments  used  by  the  Indian  tribes  on  commencing  hostilities ; 
and  which,  when  painted  red,  they  consider  a  declaration  of  war. 
They  are  formed  of  a  stick,  about  eighteen  inches  in  length,  with  a 
strong  piece  of  sharp  iron  affixed  at  the  end,  and  resemble  a  hatchet. 
They  use  them  principally  in  pursuit,  and  after  they  have  been  able 
to  introduce  confusion  into  the  ranks  of  an  enemy. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  33 

their  numbers,  which  hourly  increased,  and  infatuated 
to  the  highest  degree  by  the  predictions  of  their  pro- 
phets, who  assured  them  that  "  the  Great  Spirit"  was 
on  their  side,  and  would  enable  them  to  triumph  over 
all  their  enemies,  they  began  to  make  immediate  pre- 
parations for  extending  their  ravages  to  the  white  set- 
tlements. Fort  Mimms,  situated  in  the  Tensaw  set- 
tlement, in  the  Mississippi  territory,  was  the  first  point 
destined  to  satiate  their  cruelty  and  vengeance.  It 
contained,  at  that  time,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  under  the  command  of  major  Beasley,  besides  a 
considerable  number  of  women  and  children,  who  had 
betaken  themselves  to  it  for  security.  Having  col- 
lected a  supply  of  ammunition,  from  the  Spaniards  at 
Pensacola,  and  assembled  their  warriors,  to  the  num- 
of  six  or  seven  hundred,  the  war  party,  commanded 
by  Weatherford,  a  distinguished  chief  of  the  nation, 
on  the  30th  of  August  commenced  their  assault  on  the 
fort;  and  having  succeeded  in  carrying  it,  put  to  death 
nearly  three  hundred  persons,  including  women  and 
children,  with  the  most  savage  barbarity.  The  slaugh- 
ter was  indiscriminate ;  mercy  was  extended  to  none ; 
and  the  tomahawk,  at  the  same  stroke,  often  cleft  the 
mother  and  the  child.  But  seventeen  of  the  whole 
number,  in  the  fort,  escaped,  to  bring  intelligence  of 
the  dreadful  catastrophe.  This  monstrous  and  unpro- 
voked outrage  no  sooner  reached  Tennessee,  than  the 
whole  state  was  thrown  into  a  ferment,  and  nothing 
was  thought  or  spoken  of  but  retaliatory  vengeance. 
Considerable  excitement  had  already  been  produced 
by  brutalities  of  earlier  date,  and  measures  had  been 
adopted  by  the  governor,  in  conformity  with  instruc- 
tions from  the  secretary  of  war,  for  commencing  a 

£ 


34  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

campaign  against  them;  but  the  massacre  at  Fort 
Mimms,  which  threatened  to  be  followed  by  the  entire 
destruction  of  the  Mobile  and  Tombigbee  settlements, 
inspired  a  deep  and  universal  sentiment  of  solicitude, 
and  an  earnest  wish  for  speedy  and  effectual  opera- 
tions. The  anxiety  felt  on  the  occasion,  was  greatly 
increased  from  an  apprehension  that  general  Jackson 
would  not  be  able  to  command.  He  was  the  only  man, 
known  in  the  state,  who  was  believed  qualified  to  dis- 
charge the  arduous  duties  of  the  station,  and  who 
could  carry  with  him  the  complete  confidence  of  his 
soldiers.  He  was  at  this  time  seriously  indisposed,  and 
confined  to  his  room,  with  a  fractured  arm ;  but  al- 
though this  apprehension  was  seriously  indulged,  ar- 
rangements were  in  progress,  and  measures  indus- 
triously taken,  to  prepare  and  press  the  expedition 

with  every  possible  despatch, 

• 

A  numerous  collection  of  respectable  citizens,  who 
convened  at  Nashville  on  the  18th  of  September,  for 
the  purpose  of  devising  the  most  effectual  ways  and 
means  of  affording  protection  to  their  brethren  in  dis- 
tress, after  conferring  with  the  governor  and  general 
Jackson,  who  was  still  confined  to  his  room,  strongly 
advised  the  propriety  of  marching  a  sufficient  army 
into  the  heart  of  the  Creek  nation;  and  accordingly 
recommended  this  measure,  with  great  earnestness,  to 
the  legislature,  which,  in  a  few  days  afterwards,  com- 
menced its  session.  That  body,  penetrated  with  the 
same  sentiments  which  animated  the  whole  country, 
immediately  enacted  a  law,  authorizing  the  executive 
to  call  into  the  field  thirty-five  hundred  of  the  militia, 
to  be  marched  against  the  Indians;  and,  to  guard 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  35 

against  all  difficulties,  in  the  event  the  general  govern- 
ment should  omit  to  adopt  them  into  their  service, 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  voted  for  their 
support. 

Additional  reasons  were  at  hand  why  active  opera- 
tions should  be  commenced  with  the  least  possible 
delay.  The  settlers  were  fleeing  to  the  interior,  and 
every  day  brought  intelligence,  that  the  Creeks,  col- 
lected in  considerable  force,  were  bending  their  course 
towards  the  frontiers  of  Tennessee.  The  governor 
now  issued  an  order  to  General  Jackson,  who,  notwith- 
standing the  state  of  his  health,  had  determined  to  as- 
sume the  command,  requiring  him  to  call  out,  and 
rendezvous  at  Fayetteville,  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  two  thousand  of  the  militia  and  volunteers  of  his 
division,  to  repel  any  invasion  that  might  be  contem- 
plated. Colonel  Coffee,  in  addition  to  five  hundred 
cavalry,  already  raised,  and  under  his  command,  was 
authorized  and  instructed  to  organize  and  receive  into 
his  regiment,  any  mounted  riflemen  that  might  make 
a  tender  of  their  services. 

Having  received  these  orders,  Jackson  hastened  to 
give  them  effect ;  and  with  this  object,  and  with  a 
view  to  greater  expedition,  appealed  to  those  volun- 
teers, who,  with  him,  had  heretofore  descended  the 
Mississippi  to  Natchez.  He  urged  them  to  appear  at 
the  place  designated  for  the  rendezvous,  on  the  4th  of 
October,  equipped  and  armed  for  active  service.  He 
pointed  out  the  imperious  necessity  which  demanded 
their  services,  and  urged  them  to  be  punctual ;  for  that 
their  frontiers  were  threatened  with  invasion  by  a  sa- 


36  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

rage  foe.  "  Already  are  large  bodies  of  the  hostile 
Creeks  inarching  to  your  borders,  with  their  scalping 
knives  unsheathed,  to  butcher  your  women  and  chil- 
dren :  time  is  not  to  be  lost.  We  must  hasten  to  the  fron- 
tier, or  we  shall  find  it  drenched  in  the  blood  of  our  citi- 
zens. The  health  of  your  general  is  restored — he  will 
command  in  person."  In  the  mean  time,  until  this  force 
could  be  collected  and  organized,  colonel  Coffee,  with 
the  force  then  under  his  command,  and  such  additional 
mounted  riflemen  as  could  be  attached  at  a  short  no- 
tice, was  directed  to  hasten  forward  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Huntsville,  and  occupy  some  eligible  position 
for  the  defence  of  the  frontier,  until  the  infantry  should 
arrive;  when  it  was  contemplated,  by  the  nearest 
possible  route  to  press  on  to  Fort  St.  Stephen,  with 
a  view  to  the  protection  and  defence  of  Mississippi. 

Every  exertion  was  now  made  to  hasten  the  prepa- 
rations for  a  vigorous  campaign.  Orders  were  given 
to  the  quarter-master,  to  furnish  the  necessary  muni- 
tions, with  the  proper  transportation ;  and  to  the  con- 
tractors, to  provide  ample  supplies  of  provisions.  The 
day  of  their  rendezvous  being  arrived,  and  the  general 
not  being  sufficiently  recovered  to  attend  in  person, 
he  forwarded  by  his  aid-de-camp,  major  Reid,  an  ad- 
dress, to  be  read  to  the  troops,  accompanied  by  an 
order  for  the  establishment  of  the  police  of  the  camp. 
In  this  address,  he  pointed  to  the  unprovoked  injuries 
that  had  been  so  long  inflicted  by  this  horde  of  merci- 
less and  cruel  savages ;  and  intreated  his  soldiers  to 
evince  that  zeal  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  which 
the  importance  of  the  moment  so  much  required.  "  We 
are  about  to  furnish  these  savages  a  lesson  of  admo- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  37 

nition ; — we  are  about  to  teach  them,  that  our  long 
forbearance  has  not  proceeded  from  an  insensibility  to 
wrongs,  or  an  inability  to  redress  them.  They  stand 
in  need  of  such  warning.  In  proportion  as  we  have 
borne  with  their  insults,  and  submitted  to  their  out- 
rages, they  have  multiplied  in  number,  and  increased 
in  atrocity.  But  the  measure  of  their  offences  is  at 
length  filled.  The  blood  of  our  women  and  children, 
recently  spilled  at  Fort  Minims,  calls  for  our  ven- 
geance; it  must  not  call  in  vain.  Our  borders  must 
no  longer  be  disturbed  by  the  war  whoop  of  these 
savages,  or  the  cries  of  their  suffering  victims.  The 
torch  that  has  been  lighted  up  must  be  made  to  blaze 
in  the  heart  of  their  own  country.  It  is  time  they 
should  be  made  to  feel  the  weight  of  a  power  which, 
because  it  was  merciful,  they  believed  to  be  impotent. 
But  how  shall  a  war,  so  long  forborne,  and  so  loudly 
called  for  by  retributive  justice,  be  waged  ?  Shall  we 
imitate  the  example  of  our  enemies,  in  the  disorder 
of  their  movements  and  the  savageness  of  their  dis- 
positions ?  Is  it  worthy  the  character  of  American 
soldiers,  who  take  up  arms  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  an 
injured  country,  to  assume  no  better  model  than  that 
furnished  them  by  barbarians  ?  No,  fellow  soldiers  ; 
great  as  are  the  grievances  that  have  called  us  from 
our  homes,  we  must  not  permit  disorderly  passions  ta 
tarnish  the  reputation  we  shall  carry  along  with  us ; — 
we  must  and  will  be  victorious ;  but  we  must  conquer 
as  men  who  owe  nothing  to  chance,  and  who,  in  the 
midst  of  victory,  can  still  be  mindful  of  what  is  due 
to  humanity ! 

"  We  will  commence  the  campaign  by  an  inviolable 


38  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

attention  to  discipline  and  subordination.  Without  a 
strict  observance  of  these,  victory  must  ever  be  un- 
certain, and  ought  hardly  to  be  exulted  in  even  when 
gained.  To  what  but  the  entire  disregard  of  order 
and  subordination,  are  we  to  ascribe  the  disasters  which 
have  attended  our  arms  in  the  north,  during  the  present 
war?  How  glorious  will  it  be  to  remove  the  blots 
which  have  tarnished  the  fair  character  bequeathed  us 
by  the  fathers  of  our  revolution !  The  bosom  of  your 
general  is  full  of  hope.  He  knows  the  ardour  which 
animates  you,  and  already  exults  in  the  triumph  which 
your  strict  observance  of  discipline  and  good  order 
will  render  certain." 

For  the  police  of  his  camp,  he  announced  the  fol- 
lowing order. 

"The  chain  of  sentinels  will  be  marked,  and  the 
sentries  posted,  precisely  at  ten  o'clock  to-day. 

"No  sutler  will  be  suffered  to  sell  spirituous  liquors 
to  any  soldier,  without  permission,  in  writing,  from  a 
commissioned  officer,  under  the  penalties  prescribed 
by  the  rules  and  articles  of  war. 

"  No  citizen  will  be  permitted  to  pass  the  chain  of 
sentinels,  after  retreat  beat  in  the  evening,  until  reveille 
in  the  morning.  Drunkenness,  the  bane  of  all  orderly 
encampments,  is  positively  forbidden,  both  in  officers 
and  privates :  officers,  under  the  penalty  of  immediate 
arrest;  and  privates,  of  being  placed  under  guard, 
there  to  remain  until  liberated  by  a  court  martial, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  39 

"  At  reveille  beat,  all  officers  and  soldiers  are  to  ap- 
pear on  parade,  with  their  arms  and  accoutrements  in 
proper  order. 

"  On  parade,  silence,  the  duty  of  a  soldier,  is  posi- 
tively commanded. 

"  No  officer  or  soldier  is  to  sleep  out  of  camp,  but 
by  permission  obtained." 

These  rules,  to  those  who  had  scarcely  yet  passed 
the  line  that  separates  the  citizen  from  the  soldier,  and 
who  had  not  yet  laid  aside  the  notions  of  self  sove- 
reignty, had  the  appearance  of  too  much  rigour ;  but 
the  general  well  knew,  that  the  expedition  in  which 
they  were  embarked  involved  much  hazard ;  and  that, 
although  such  lively  feelings  were  manifested  now, 
yet  when  hardships  pressed,  these  might  cease.  He 
considered  it  much  safer,  therefore,  to  lay  before  them, 
at  once,  the  rules  of  conduct  to  which  they  must  con- 
form; believing  that  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  drive 
licentiousness  from  his  camp,  than  to  prevent  its  en- 
trance. 

Impatient  to  join  his  division,  although  his  health 
was  far  from  being  restored,  his  arm  only  beginning  to 
heal,  the  general,  in  a  few  days  afterwards,  set  out  for 
the  encampment,  and  reached  it  on  the  7th.  Finding, 
on  his  arrival,  that  the  requisition  was  not  complete, 
either  in  the  number  of  men,  or  the  necessary  equip- 
ments, measures  were  instantly  taken  to  remedy  the 
deficiency.  Orders  were  directed  to  the  several  briga- 


40  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

diers  in  his  division,  to  hasten  immediately  their  re- 
spective quotas,  fully  equipped  for  active  operations, 

Circumstances  did  not  permit  him  to  remain  at  this 
place  long  enough  to  have  the  delinquencies  complain- 
ed of  remedied,  and  the  ranks  of  his  army  filled.  Co- 
lonel Coffee  had  proceeded  with  his  mounted  volun- 
teers to  cover  Huntsville,  and  give  security  to  the 
frontiers,  where  alarm  greatly  prevailed.  On  the  night 
of  the  8th,  a  letter  was  received  from  him,  dated  two 
days  before,  advising,  that  two  Indians,  belonging  to 
the  peace  party,  had  just  arrived  at  the  Tennessee 
river,  from  Chinnaby's  fort,  on  the  Coosa,  with  infor- 
mation that  the  war  party  had  despatched  eight  hun- 
dred or  a  thousand  of  their  warriors  to  attack  the 
frontiers  of  Georgia ;  and,  with  the  remainder  of  their 
forces,  were  marching  against  Huntsville,  or  Fort  Hamp- 
ton. In  consequence  of  this  intelligence,  exertions 
were  made  to  hasten  a  movement.  Late  on  the  follow- 
ing night,  another  express  arrived,  confirming  the 
former  statement,  and  representing  the  enemy,  in  great 
force,  to  be  rapidly  approaching  the  Tennessee.  Or- 
ders were  now  given  for  preparing  the  line  of  march, 
and  by  nine  o'clock  the  next  day  the  whole  division 
was  in  motion.  They  had  not  proceeded  many  miles, 
when  they  were  met  with  intelligence  that  colonel 
Gibson,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Coffee  to  recon- 
noitre the  movements  of  the  enemy,  had  been  killed 
by  their  advance.  A  strong  desire  had  been  mani- 
fested to  be  led  forward ;  that  desire  was  now  strength- 
ened by  the  information  just  received;  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  their  emotions  could  be  restrained.  They 
accelerated  their  pace,  and  before  eight  o'clock  at  night, 
arrived  at  Huntsville,  a  distance  of  thirty-two  miles. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  4 1 

Learning  here,  that  the  information  .was  erroneous 
which  had  occasioned  so  hasty  a  movement,  the  gene- 
ral encamped  his  troops ;  having  intended  to  march 
them  that  night  to  the  Tennessee  river  had  it  been 
confirmed.  The  next  day  the  line  of  march  was  re- 
sumed. The  influence  of  the  late  excitement  was 
now  visible  in  the  lassitude  which  followed  its  removal* 
Proceeding  slowly,  they  crossed  the  Tennessee,  at 
Ditto's  landing,  and  united  in  the  evening  with  colonel 
Coffee's  regiment,  which  had  previously  occupied  a 
commanding  bluff,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river. 
From  this  place,  in  a  few  days  afterwards,  Jackson  de- 
tached colonel  Coffee,  with  seven  hundred  men,  to  scour 
the  Black  Warrior,  a  stream  running  from  the  north- 
east, and  emptying  into  the  Tombigbee;  on  which 
were  supposed  to  be  settled  several  populous  villages 
of  the  enemy.  ^  He  himself  remained  at  this  encamp- 
ment a  week,  using  the  utmost  pains  in  training  his 
troops  for  service,  and  labouring  incessantly  to  procure 
the  necesfeary  supplies  for  a  campaign,  which  he  had 
determined  to  carry  directly  into  the  heart  of  the  ene- 
my's country.  Towards  the  latter  object,  his  industry 
had  been  employed,  and  his  attention  invariably  direct- 
ed, from  the  time  the  expedition  was  projected. 

With  general  Cocke,  who  commanded  the  division 
of  East  Tennessee  militia,  an  arrangment  had  been 
made,  the  preceding  month,  in  which  he  had  engaged 
to  furnish  large  quantities  of  bread  stuff,  at  Ditto's 
landing.  The  facility  of  procuring  it  in  that  quarter, 
and  the  convenient  transportation  afforded  by  the  river, 
left  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of  Jackson  but  that  the 
engagement  would  be  punctually  complied  with.  To 


42  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

provide,  however,  against  the  bare  possibility  of  a 
failure,  and  to  be  guarded  against  all  contingencies 
that  might  happen,  he  had  addressed  his  applications 
to  various  other  sources.  He  had,  on  the  same  subject, 
written  in  the  most  pressing  manner  to  the  Governor 
of  Georgia,  with  whose  forces  it  was  proposed  to  act 
in  concert ;  to  colonel  Meigs,  agent  to  the  Cherokee 
nation  of  Indians ;  and  to  general  White,  wiio  com- 
manded the  advance  of  the  East  Tennessee  troops. 
Previously  to  his  arrival  at  Huntsville,  he  had  receiv- 
ed assurances  from  the  two  latter,  that  a  considerable 
supply  of  flour,  for  the  use  of  his  army,  had  been  pro- 
cured, and  was  then  at  Hiwassee,  where  boats  were 
ready  to  transport  it.  From  general  Cocke  himself, 
about  the  same  time,  a  letter  was  received ;  stating  that 
a  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  flour  were  then  on  the 
way  to  his  encampment;  and  expressing  a  belief,  that 
he  should  be  able  to  procure,  and  forward  on  imme- 
diately, a  thousand  Barrels  more.  With  pressing  im- 
portunity, he  had  addressed  himself  to  the  contractors, 
and  they  had  given  him  assurances,  that  on  his  crossing 
the  Tennessee,  they  would  be  prepared  with  twenty 
days'  rations  for  his  whole  command ;  but  finding,  on 
his  arrival  at  Ditto's,  that  their  preparations  were  not 
in  such  forwardness  as  he  had  been  led  to  expect,  he 
was  compelled,  for  a  time,  to  suspend  any  active  and 
general  operations.  Calculating,  however,  with  great 
confidence,  on  exertions,  which,  he  had  been  promised, 
should  be  unremitting,  and  on  the  speedy  arrival  of 
those  supplies,  descending  the  river,  which  had  been 
already  unaccountably  delayed,  he  hoped,  in  a  few 
days,  to  be  placed  in  a  situation  to  act  efficiently. 
Whilst  he  was  encouraged  by  these  expectations,  and 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  43 

only  waiting  their  fulfilment,  that  he  might  advance, 
Shelocta,  the  son  of  Chinnaby,  a  principal  chief  among 
the  friendly  Creeks,  arrived  at  his  camp,  to  solicit  his 
speedy  movement  for  the  relief  of  his  father's  fort, 
which  was  then  threatened  by  a  considerable  body 
of  the  war  party,  who  had  advanced  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Ten  Islands,  on  the  Coosa.     Influenced 
by  his  representations,  and  anxious  to  extend  relief, 
Jackson,  on  the  18th,  gave  orders  for  taking  up  the 
line  of  march  on  the  following  day,  and  notified  the 
contractors  of  this  arrangement,  that  they  might  be 
prepared  to  issue,  immediately,  such  supplies  as  they 
had  on  hand :  but,  to  his  great  astonishment,  he  then, 
for  the  first  time,  wts  apprised  of  their  entire  inability 
to  supply  him  whilst  on  his  march.     Having  drawn 
what  they  had  in  their  power  to  furnish,  amounting  to 
only  a  few  days'  rations,  they  were  deposed  from  office, 
and  others  appointed,  on  whose  industry  and  perform- 
ance, he  believed,  he  might  more  safely  rely.     The 
scarcity  of  his  provisions,  however,  at  a  moment  like 
the  present,  when  there  was  every  appearance  that 
the  enemy  might  be  met,  and  a  blow  stricken  to  ad- 
vantage, was  not  sufficient  to  wave  his  determination, 
already  taken.     The  route  he  would  have  to  make,  to 
gain  the  fort,  lay,  for  a  considerable  distance,  up  the 
river :  might  not  the  boats,  long  expected  from  Hiwas- 
see,  and  which  he  felt  strongly  assured  must  be  near 
at  hand,  be  met  with  on  the  way  ?     He  determined  to 
proceed;  and  having  passed  his  army  and  baggage 
wagons  over  several  mountains   of  stupendous   size, 
and  such  as  were  thought  almost  impassable  by  foot 
passengers,  he  arrived,   on   the  22d  of  October,  at 
Thompson's  creek,  which  empties  into  the  Tennessee, 


44  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

twenty-four  miles  above  Ditto's,     At  this  place  he 
proposed  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  depot,  for 
the  reception  of  supplies,  to  be  sent  either  up  or  down 
the  river.    Disappointed  in  the  hopes  with  which  he 
had  adventured  on  his  march,  he  remained  here  several 
days,  in  expectation  of  the  boats  that  were  coming  to 
his  relief.     Thus  harassed  at  the  first  onset,  by  diffi- 
culties wholly  unexpected,  and  which,  from  the  nu^ 
merous  and  strong  assurances  received,  he  could  by 
no  means  have  calculated  on ;  fearing,  too,  that  the 
same  disregard  of  duty  might  induce  a  continuance,  he 
lost  no  time  in  opening  every  avenue  to  expedient, 
that  the  chances  of  future  failure  might  be  diminished. 
To  general  Flournoy,  who  commanded  at  Mobile,  he 
applied,  urging  him  to  procure  bread  stuff,  and  have 
it  forwarded  up  the  Alabama  by  the  time  he  should 
arrive  on  that  river.  The  agent  of  the  Choctaws,  colo- 
nel M'Kee,  who  was  then  on  the  Tombigbee,  was  ad- 
dressed in  the  same  style  of  entreaty.  Expresses  were 
despatched  to  general  White,  who,  with  the  advance 
of  the  East  Tennessee   division,  had  arrived  at  the 
Look  Out  mountain,  in  the  Cherokee  nation,  urging 
him,  by  all  means,  to  hasten  on  the  supplies.     The 
assistance  of  the  governor  of  Tennessee,  was   also 
earnestly  besought.     To  facilitate  exertion,  and  to  in- 
sure success,  every  thing  within  his  reach  was  attempt- 
ed :  several  persons  of  wealth  and  patriotism,  in  Madi- 
son county,  were  solicited  to  afford  the  contractors  all 
the  aid  in  their  power;  and,  to  induce  them  more 
readily  to  extend  it,  their  deep  interest,  immediately 
at  stake,  was  pointed  to,  and  their  deplorable   and 
dangerous  situation,  should  necessity  compel  him  to 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  45 

withdraw  his  army,  and  leave  them  exposed  to  the 
mercy  of  the  savages. 

Whilst  these  measures  were  taking,  two  runners, 
from  Turkey  town,  an  Indian  village,  despatched  by 
Path-killer,  a  chief  of  the  Cherokees,  arrived  at  the 
camp.  They  brought  information,  that  the  enemy, 
from  nine  of  the  hostile  towns,  were  assembling  in 
great  force  near  the  Ten  Islands ;  and  solicited,  that 
immediate  assistance  should  be  afforded  the  friendly 
Creeks  and  Cherokees,  in  their  neighbourhood,  who 
were  exposed  to  such  imminent  danger.  His  want  of 
provisions  was  not  yet  remedied ;  but,  distributing  the 
partial  supply  that  was  on  hand,  he  resolved  to  pro^ 
ceed,  in  expectation  that  the  relief  he  had  so  earnestly 
looked  for,  would,  in  a  little  while,  arrive,  and  be  for* 
warded  to  him.  To  prepare  his  troops  for  an  engage* 
ment,  which  he  foresaw  was  soon  to  take  place,  he 
thus  addressed  them ; 

"  You  have,  fellow  soldiers,  at  length  penetrated  the 
country  of  your  enemies,  It  is  not  to  be  believed, 
that  they  will  abandon  the  soil  that  embosoms  the 
bones  of  their  forefathers,  without  furnishing  you  an 
opportunity  of  signalizing  your  valour.  Wise  men  do 
not  expect ;  brave  men  will  not  desire  it.  It  was  not 
to  travel  unmolested,  through  a  barren  wilderness,  that 
you  quitted  your  families  and  homes,  and  submitted 
to  so  many  privations :  it  was  to  avenge  the  cruelties 
committed  upon  our  defenceless  frontiers,  by  the  in- 
human Creeks,  instigated  by  their  no  less  inhuman 
allies ;  you  shall  not  be  disappointed.  If  the  enemy 
flee  before  us,  we  will  overtake  and  chastise  him;  we 


46  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

will  teach  him  how  dreadful,  when  once  aroused,  is 
the  resentment  of  freemen.  But  it  is  not  by  boasting 
that  punishment  is  to  be  inflicted,  or  victory  obtained. 
The  same  resolution  that  prompted  us  to  take  up 
arms,  must  inspire  us  in  battle.  Men  thus  animated, 
and  thus  resolved,  barbarians  can  never  conquer;  and 
it  is  an  enemy,  barbarous  in  the  extreme,  that  we  have 
now  to  face.  Their  reliance  will  be  on  the  damage 
they  can  do  you  whilst  you  are  asleep  and  unprepared 
for  action  :  their  hopes  shall  fail  them  in  the  hour  of 
experiment.  Soldiers,  who  know  their  duty,  and  are 
ambitious  to  perform  it,  are  not  to  be  taken  by  sur- 
prise. Our  sentinels  will  never  sleep,  nor  our  soldiers 
be  unprepared  for  action :  yet,  whilst  it  is  enjoined 
upon  the  sentinels  vigilantly  to  watch  the  approach  of 
the  foe,  they  are,  at  the  same  time,  commanded  not  to 
fire  at  shadows.  Imaginary  danger  must  not  deprive 
them  of  entire  self-possession.  Our  soldiers  will  lie 
with  their  arms  in  their  hands:  and  the  moment  an 
alarm  is  given,  they  will  move  to  their  respective  posi- 
tions, without  noise,  and  without  confusion ;  they  will 
be  thus  enabled  to  hear  the  orders  of  their  officers, 
and  to  obey  them  with  promptitude, 

"  Great  reliance  will  be  placed,  by  the  enemy,  on 
the  consternation  they  may  be  able  to  spread  through 
our  ranks  by  the  hideous  yells  with  which  they  com- 
mence their  battles ;  but  brave  men  will  laugh  at  such 
efforts  to  alarm  them.  It  is  not  by  bellowings  and 
screams  that  the  wounds  of  death  are  inflicted.  You 
will  teach  these  noisy  assailants  how  weak  are  their 
weapons  of  warfare,  by  opposing  them  with  the  bayo- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  47 

net;  what  Indian  ever  withstood  its  charge?  what 
army,  of  any  nation,  ever  withstood  it  long  ? 

"  Yes,  soldiers,  the  order  for  a  charge  will  be  the 
signal  for  victory.  In  that  moment,  your  enemy  will 
be  seen  fleeing  in  every  direction  before  you.  But 
in  the  moment  of  action,  coolness  and  deliberation 
must  be  regarded ;  your  fires  made  with  precision  and 
aim ;  and  when  ordered  to  charge  with  the  bayonet, 
you  must  proceed  to  the  assault  with  a  quick  and  firm 
step ;  without  trepidation  or  alarm.  Then  shall  you 
behold  the  completion  of  your  hopes  in  the  discom- 
fiture of  your  enemy.  Your  general,  whose  duty,  as 
\vell  as  inclination,  is  to  watch  over  your  safety,  will 
not,  to  gratify  any  wishes  of  his  own,  rush  you  un- 
necessarily into  danger.  He  knows,  however,  that  it 
is  not  in  assailing  an  enemy  that  men  are  destroyed ; 
it  is  when  retreating,  and  in  confusion.  Aware  of  this, 
he  will  be  prompted  as  much  by  a  regard  for  your 
lives  as  your  honour.  He  laments  that  he  has  been 
compelled,  even  incidentally,  to  hint  at  a  retreat  when 
speaking  to  freemen,  and  to  soldiers.  Never,  until  you 
forget  all  that  is  due  to  yourselves  and  your  country, 
will  you  have  any  practical  understanding  of  that 
word.  Shall  an  enemy,  wholly  unacquainted  with  mili- 
tary evolution,  and  who  rely  more  for  victory  on 
their  grim  visages  and  hideous  yells,  than  upon  their 
bravery  or  their  weapons — shall  such  an  enemy  ever, 
drive  before  them  the  well-trained  youths  of  our 
country,  whose  bosoms  pant  for  glory,  and  a  desire  to 
avenge  the  wrongs  they  have  received  ?  Your  general 
will  not  live  to  behold  such  a  spectacle ;  rather  would 
he  rush  into  the  thickest  of  the  enemy,  and  submit 


\ 
48  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

himself  to  their  scalping  knives :  but  he  has  no  fears 
of  such  a  result.  He  knows  the  valour  of  the  men  he 
commands,  and  how  certainly  that  valour,  regulated 
as  it  will  be,  will  lead  to  victory.  With  his  soldiers  he 
will  face  all  dangers,  and  with  them  participate  in  the 
glory  of  conquest." 

Having  thus  prepared  the  minds  of  his  men,  and 
brought  to  their  view  the  kind  of  foe  with  whom  they 
were  shortly  to  contend;  and  having  also,  by  his  ex- 
presses, instructed  general  White  to  form  a  junction 
with  him,  and  to  hasten  on  all  the  supplies  in  his 
power  to  command,  with  about  six  days'  rations  of 
meat,  and  less  than  two  of  meal,  he  again  put  his 
army  in  motion  to  meet  the  enemy.  Although  there 
was  some  hazard  in  advancing  into  a  country  where 
relief  was  not  to  be  expected,  with  such  limited  pre- 
paration, yet,  believing  that  his  contractors,  lately  in- 
stalled, would  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  to 
forward  supplies,  and  that  amidst  the  variety  of 
arrangements  made,  all  could  not  fail,  and  well  aware 
that  his  delaying  longer  might  be  productive  of  many 
disadvantages,  his  determination  was  taken  to  set  out 
immediately  in  quest  of  the  enemy.  He  replied  to  the 
Path-killer,  by  his  runners,  that  he  should  proceed 
directly  for  the  Coosa,  and  solicited  him  to  be  diligent 
in  making  discoveries  of  the  situation  and  collected 
forces  of  the  savages,  and  to  give  him,  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, the  result  of  his  inquiries. 

"  The  hostile  Creeks,"  he  remarked  to  him,  "  will 
not  attack  you  until  they  have  had  a  brush  with  me ; 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  49 

and  that,  I  think,  will  put  them  out  of  the  notion  of 
fighting  for  some  time." 

He  requested,  if  he  had,  or  could  any  how  procure, 
provisions  for  his  army,  that  he  would  send  them,  or 
advise  where  they  might  be  had :  "  You  shall  be  well 
paid,  and  have  my  thanks  into  the  bargain.  I  shall 
stand  most  in  need  of  corn  meal,  but  shall  be  thank- 
ful for  any  kind  of  provisions ;  and  indeed  for  what* 
ever  will  support  life." 

The  army  had  advanced  but  a  short  distance  when 
unexpected  embarrassments  were  again  presented.  In- 
formation was  received,  by  which  it  was  clearly  ascer^ 
tained,  that  the  present  contractors,  who  had  been  so 
much  and  so  certainly,  relied  on,  could  not,  with  all 
their  exertions,  procure  the  necessary  supplies.  Major 
Rose,  in  the  quarter-master's  department,  who  had 
been  sent  into  Madison  county,  to  aid  them  in  their 
endeavours,  having  satisfied  himself,  as  well  from 
their  own  admissions,  as  from  evidence  derived  from 
other  sources,  that  their  want  of  funds,  and  conse- 
quent want  of  credit,  rendered  them  a  very  unsafe  de- 
pendence, had  returned,  and  disclosed  the  facts  to  the 
general.  He  stated,  that  there  were  there  persons  of 
fortune  and  industry,  who  might  be  confided  in,  and 
who  would  be  willing  to  contract  for  the  army  jf  it 
were  necessary.  Jackson  lost  no  time  in  embracing 
this  plan,  and  gave  the  contract  to  Mr,  Pope,  upon 
whose  means  and  exertions,  he  hoped,  every  reliance 
might  be  safely  reposed.  To  the  other  contractors  he 
wrote,  informing  them  of  the  change  that  had  been 
made,  and  the  reasons  which  had  induced  it 

G 


50  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

"  I  am  advised,"  said  he,  "  that  you  have  candidly 
acknowledged  you  have  it  not  in  your  power  to  exe- 
cute the  contract  in  which  you  have  engaged.  Do  not 
think  I  mean  to  cast  any  reflection — very  far  from  it. 
I  am  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  exertions  you  have 
made,  and  feel  myself  under  many  obligations  of  grati- 
tude for  them.  The  critical  situation  of  affairs,  when 
you  entered  into  the  contract,  being  considered,  you 
have  done  all  that  individuals,  in  your  circumstances, 
could  have  performed.  But  you  must  be  well  con- 
vinced, that  any  approbation  which  may  be  felt  by  the 
commander  of  an  army,  for  past  services,  ought  not  to 
become,  through  kindness  to  you,  the  occasion  of  that 
Army's  destruction.  From  the  admissions  you  have 
been  candid  enough  to  make,  the  scarcity  which  al- 
ready begins  to  appear  in  camp,  and  the  difficulties 
you  are  likely  to  encounter,  in  effecting  your  engage- 
ments, I  am  apprehensive  I  should  be  doing  injustice 
to  the  army  I  command  were  I  to  rely  for  support  on 
your  exertions — great  as  I  know  them  to  be.  What- 
ever concerns  myself,  I  may  manage  with  any  gene- 
rosity or  indulgence  I  please ;  but  in  acting  for  rny 
country,  I  have  no  such  discretion.  I  have,  therefore, 
felt  myself  compelled  to  give  the  contract  in  which 
you  are  concerned,  to  another,  who  is  abundantly  abl<? 
to  execute  it;  on  condition  he  indemnifies  you  for  the 
trouble  you  have  beep  at." 

This  arrangement  being  made,  the  army  continued 
its  march,  and  having  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
Ten  Islands,  was  met  by  old  Chinnaby,  a  leading  chief 
of  the  Creek  nation,  and  sternly  opposed  to  the  war 
party.  He  brought  with  him,  and  surrendered  up,  two 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOiV.  51 

of  the  hostile  Creeks,  who  had  been  lately  made  pri- 
soners by  his  party.  At  this  place,  it  was  represented, 
that  they  were  within  sixteen  miles  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  collected,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand,  to  oppose 
their  passage.  This  information  was  little  relied  on, 
and  afterwards  proved  untrue.  Jackson  continued  his 
route,  and  in  a  few  days  reached  the  islands  of  the 
Coosa;  having  been  detained  a  day  on  the  way,  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  small  supplies  of  corn  from 
the  neighbouring  Indians.  This  acquisition  to  the 
scanty  stock  on  hand,  whilst  it  afforded  subsistence  for 
the  present,  encouraged  his  hopes  for  the  future,  as  a 
mean  of  temporary  resort,  should  his  other  resources 
fail. 

In  a  letter  to  governor  Blount,  from  this  place,  speak- 
ing of  the  difficulties  with  which  he  was  assailed,  he 
observes : — "  Indeed,  sir,  we  have  been  very  wretch* 
edly  supplied — scarcely  two  rations  in  succession  have 
been  regularly  drawn;  yet  we  are  not  despondent. 
Whilst  we  can  procure  an  ear  of  corn  a-piece,  or  any 
thing  that  will  answer  as  a  substitute  for  it,  we  shall 
continue  our  exertions  to  accomplish  the  object  for 
which  we  were  sent  The  cheerfulness  with  which  my 
men  submit  to  privations,  and  are  ready  to  encounter 
danger,  does  honour  to  them,  and  to  the  government 
whose  rights  they  are  defending. 

"  Every  mean  within  my  power,  for  procuring  the 
requisite  supplies  for  my  army,  I  have  taken,  and  am 
continuing  to  take.     East,  west,  north  and  south,  have 
been  applied  to  with  the  most  pressing  solicitation. , 
The  governor  of  Georgia,  in  a  letter  received  from  l^im 


52  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

this  evening,  informs  me  that  a  sufficiency  can  be  had 
in  his  state;  but  does  not  signify  that  he  is  about  to 
take  any  measures  to  procure  it.  My  former  contractor 
has  been  superseded:  no  exertions  were  spared  by 
him  to  fulfil  his  engagements ;  yet  the  inconveniences 
under  which  he  laboured  where  such  as  to  render  his 
best  exertions  unavailing.  The  contract  has  been  of- 
fered to  one  who  will  be  able  to  execute  it :  if  he  ac- 
cepts it,  my  apprehensions  will  be  greatly  diminished." 

On  the  28th  of  October,  colonel  Dyer,  who,  on  the 
march  to  the  Ten  Islands,  had  been  detached  from  the 
main  body,  with  two  hundred  cavalry,  to  attack  Littafut» 
chee  town,  on  the  head  of  Canoe  creek,  which  empties 
into  the  Coosa  from  the  west,  returned,  bringing  with 
him  twenty-nine  prisoners,  men,  women,  and  children, 
having  destroyed  the  village. 

The  sanguine  expectations  indulged,  on  leaving 
Thompson's  creek,  that  the  advance  of  the  East  Ten- 
nessee militia  would  hasten  to  unite  with  him,  was  not 
yet  realized.  The  express  heretofore  directed  to  gene- 
ral White,  had  not  returned.  Jackson,  on  the  31st, 
despatched  another,  again  urging  him  to  effect  a  speedy 
junction,  and  to  bring  with  him  all  the  bread  stuff  it 
should  be  in  his  power  to  procure ;  feelingly  suggest- 
ing to  him,  at  the  same  time,  the  great  inconvenience 
and  hazard  to  which  he  had  been  already  exposed,  for 
the  want  of  punctuality  in  himself  and  his  command- 
ing general.  Owing  to  that  cause,  and  the  late  failures 
of  his  contractors,  he  represented  his  army  as  placed, 
M  present,  in  a  very  precarious  situation,  and  depen- 
dent, in  a  great  measure,  for  support,  .on  the  exertions 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  53 

which  they  might  be  pleased  to  make ;  but  assured 
him,  at  the  same  time,  that,  let  circumstances  transpire 
as  they  might,  he  would  still,  at  every  risk,  endeavour 
to  effect  his  purpose ;  and,  at  all  events,  was  resolved 
to  hasten,  with  every  practicable  despatch,  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  object  for  which  he  had  set  out. 
Believing  the  co-operation  of  the  East  Tennessee  troops 
essential  to  this  end,  they  were  again  instructed  to  join 
him  without  delay  ;  for  he  could  not  conceive  it  to  be 
correct  policy,  that  troops  from  the  same  state,  pursu- 
ing the  same  object,  should  constitute  separate  and  dis- 
tinct armies,  and  act  without  concert,  and  independent- 
ly of  each  other.  He  entertained  no  doubt  but  that  his 
order  would  be  promptly  obeyed. 

The  next  evening,  a  detachment,  which  had  been 
sent  out  the  day  before,  returned  to  camp,  bringing 
with  them,  besides  some  corn  and  beeves,  several 
negroes  and  prisoners  of  the  war  party. 

Learning  now  that  a  considerable  body  of  the 
enemy  had  posted  themselves  at  Tallushatchee,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Coosa,  about  thirteen  miles  dis- 
tant, general  Coffee  was  detached  with  nine  hundred 
men,  (the  mounted  troops  having  been  previously  or- 
ganized into  a  brigade,  and  placed  under  his  com- 
mand) to  attack  and  disperse  them.  With  this  force 
he  was  enabled,  through  the  direction  of  an  Indian 
pilot,  to  ford  the  Coosa,  at  the  Fish-dams,  about  four 
miles  above  the  Islands ;  and  having  encamped  beyond 
it,  very  early  the  next  morning  proceeded  to  the  exe- 
cution of  his  order.  Having  arrived  within  a  mile  and 
a  hal£  he  formed  his  attachment  into  two  divisions* 


54  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  directed  them  to  march  so  as  to  encircle  the 
town,  by  uniting  their  fronts  beyond  it.  The  enemy, 
hearing  of  his  approach,  began  to  prepare  for  action, 
which  was  announced  by  the  beating  of  drums,  min- 
gled with  their  savage  yells  and  war  whoops.  An 
hour  after  sun-rise,  the  action  was  commenced  by  cap- 
tain Hammon's  and  lieutenant  Patterson's  companies 
of  spies,  who  had  gone  within  the  circle  of  alignement, 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the  Indians  from  their 
buildings.  No  sooner  had  these  companies  exhibited 
their  front  in  view  of  the  town,  and  given  a  few  scat- 
tering shot,  than  the  enemy  formed,  and  made  a  violent 
charge.  Being  compelled  to  give  way,  the  advance 
guards  were  pursued  until  they  reached  the  main 
body  of  the  army,  which  immediately  opened  a  gene- 
ral fire,  and  charged  in  their  turn.  The  Indians  re- 
treated, firing,  until  they  got  around  and  in  their 
buildings,  where  an  obstinate  conflict  ensued,  and 
where  those  who  maintained  their  ground  persisted  in 
fighting,  as  long  as  they  could  stand  or  sit,  without 
manifesting  fear,  or  soliciting  quarter.  Their  loss  was 
an  hundred  and  eighty-six  killed ;  among  whom  were, 
unfortunately,  and  through  accident,  a  few  women  and 
children.  Eighty-four  women  and  children  were  taken 
prisoners,  towards  whom  the  utmost  humanity  was 
shown.  Of  the  Americans,  five  were  killed,  and  forty- 
one  wounded.  Two  were  killed  with  arrows,  which, 
on  this  occasion,  formed  a  principal  part  of  the  arms 
of  the  Indians ;  each  one  having  a  bow  and  quiver, 
which  he  used  after  the  first  fire  of  his  gun,  until  an 
opportunity  occurred  for  re-loading. 

Having  buried  his  dead,  and  provided  for  his  wound- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 


ed,  general  Coffee,  late  on  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  united  with  the  main  army,  bringing  with  him 
about  forty  prisoners.  Of  the  residue,  a  part  were  too 
badly  wounded  to  be  removed,  and  were  therefore 
left,  with  a  sufficient  number  to  take  care  of  them. 
Those  which  he  brought  in,  received  every  comfort 
and  assistance  their  situation  demanded,  and,  for  safe- 
ty, were  immediately  sent  into  the  settlements. 

From  the  manner  in  which  the  enemy  fought,  the 
killing  and  wounding  others  than  their  warriors  was 
not  to  be  avoided.  On  their  retreat  to  their  village, 
after  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  they  resorted 
to  their  block  houses,  and  strong  log  dwellings,  whence 
they  kept  up  resistance,  and  resolutely  maintained  the 
fight.  Thus  mingled  with  their  women  and  children, 
it  was  impossible  they  should  not  be  exposed  to  the 
general  danger ;  and  thus  many  were  injured,  notwith- 
standing every  possible  precaution  was  taken  to  pre- 
vent it.  In  fact  many  of  the  women  united  with  their 
warriors,  and  contended  in  the  battle  with  fearless 
bravery. 


CHAPTER  III. 

General  Jackson  endeavours  to  unite  with  the  East  Tennessee  troops. — 

Establishment  of  Fort  Strother. — Learns  the  enemy  are  embodied. 

Marches  to  meet  them. — Battle  of  Talladega. — Is  compelled  to  return 
to  his  encampment  for  want  of  supplies. —Anecdote. — Discontents  of 
his  army. — Militia  and  volunteers  mutiny. — Address  to  the  officers. — 
Is  compelled  to  abandon  Fort  Strother. — Hillabee  clans  sue  for  peace. — 
Letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackburn — Answer. — The  volunteers  claim 
to  be  discharged. — Mutiny.— Address  to  them. — General  Cocke  arrives 
with  part  of  his  division. — General  Coffee's  brigade  petitions  for  a 
discharge. — General  Jackson's  answer. — They  abandon  the  service  and 
go  home. 

MEASURES  were  now  taken  to  establish  a  permanent 
depot  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  at  the  Ten  Is- 
lands, to  be  protected  by  strong  picketting  and  block 
houses ;  after  which,  it  was  the  intention  of  Jackson 
to  proceed  along  the  Coosa  to  its  junction  with  the 
Tallapoosa,  near  which  it  was  expected  the  main  force 
of  the  enemy  was  collected.  Well  knowing  that  it 
would  detach  much  of  the  strength  of  his  army,  to  oc- 
cupy, in  his  advance,  the  different  points  necessary  to 
the  safety  of  his  rear,  it  was  desirable  to  unite,  as  soon 
as  possible,  with  the  troops  from  the  east  of  Ten- 
nessee :  to  effect  this,  he  again,  on  the  4th,  despatched 
an  express  to  general  White,  who  had  previously, 
with  his  command,  arrived  at  Turkey  town*  a  Chero- 
kee village,  about  twenty  five  miles  above,  on  the 
same  river,  urging  him  to  unite  with  him  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  again  entreating  him  on  the  subject  of 
provisions; — to  bring  with  him  such  as  he  had  on 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  57 

hand,  or  could  procure ;  and,  if  possible,  to  form  some 
certain  arrangement  that  might  insure  a  supply  in 
future. 

Anxious  to  proceed,  and  to  have  his  army  actively 
and  serviceably  employed,  which  he  believed  would 
be  practicable,  as  soon  as  a  junction  could  be  effected, 
he  again,  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  renewed  his  ap- 
plication to  general  White,  who  still  remained  at  Tur- 
key town* 

As  yet  no  certain  intelligence  was  received  of  any 
collection  of  the  enemy.  The  army  was  busily  en-* 
gaged  in  fortifying  and  strengthening  the  site  fixed  on 
for  a  depot,  to  which  the  name  of  Fort  Strother  had 
been  given.  Late,  however,  on  the  evening  of  the 
7th,  a  runner  arrived  from  Talladega,  a  fort  of  the 
friendly  Indians,  distant  about  thirty  miles  below,  with 
information,  that  the  enemy  had  that  morning  en- 
camped before  it  in  great  numbers,  and  would  certain- 
ly destroy  it,  unless  immediate  assistance  could  be 
afforded.  Jackson,  confiding  in  the  statement,  deter- 
mined to  lose  no  time  in  extending  the  relief  which 
Was  solicited.  Understanding  that  general  White, 
agreeably  to  his  order^  was  on  his  way  to  join  him,  he 
despatched  a  messenger  to  meet  him,  directing  him  to 
reach  his  encampment  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 
night,  and  to  protect  it  in  his  absence.  He  now  gave 
orders  for  taking  up  the  line  of  march,  with  twelve 
hundred  infantry,  and  eight  hundred  cavalry  and 
mounted  gun  men;  leaving  behind, the  sick,  the  wound- 
ed, and  all  his  baggage,  with  a  force  which  was  deertv 


58  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

ed  sufficient  for  their  protection,  until  the  reinforce- 
ment from  Turkey  town  should  arrive. 

The  friendly  Indians,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  this 
besieged  fort,  had  involved  themselves  in  their  present 
perilous  situation,  from  a  disposition  to  preserve  their 
amicable  relations  with  the  United  States.  To  suffer 
them  to  fall  a  sacrifice,  from  any  tardiness  of  move- 
ment, would  have  been  unpardonable ;  and  unless  re- 
lief were  immediately  extended,  it  might  arrive  too 
late.  Acting  under  these  impressions,  the  general 
concluded  to  move  instantly  forward  to  their  assistance. 
By  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  every  thing  was  in  readi- 
ness; and,  in  an  hour  afterwards,  the  army  commenced 
crossing  the  river,  about  a  mile  above  the  camp — each 
of  the  mounted  men  carrying  one  of  the  infantry  be- 
hind him.  The  river,  at  this  place,  was  six  hundred 
yards  wide,  and  it  being  necessary  to  send  back  the 
horses  for  the  remainder  of  the  infantry,  several  hours 
were  consumed  before  a  passage  of  all  the  troops 
could  be  effected.  Nevertheless,  though  greatly  fa- 
tigued and  deprived  of  sleep,  they  continued  the  march 
with  animation,  and  by  evening  had  arrived  within  six 
miles  of  the  enemy*  In  this  march,  Jackson  used  the 
utmost  precaution  to  prevent  surprise ;  marching  his 
army,  as  was  his  constant  custom,  in  three  columns, 
so  that,  by  a  speedy  manoeuvre,  they  might  be  thrown 
into  such  a  situation  as  to  be  capable  of  resisting  an 
attack  from  any  quarter.  Having  judiciously  encamped 
his  men  on  an  eligible  piece  of  ground,  he  sent  for- 
ward two  of  the  friendly  Indians,  and  a  white  man, 
who  had,  for  many  years,  been  detained  a  captive  in 
the  nation,  and  was  now  acting  as  interpreter,  to  recoil- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  59 

noitre  the  position  of  the  enemy.  About  eleven  o'clock 
at  night  they  returned  with  information  that  the  sa- 
vages were  posted  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the 
fort,  and  appeared  to  be  in  great  force ;  but  that  they 
had  not  been  able  to  approach  near  enough  to  ascer- 
tain either  their  numbers  or  precise  situation.  Within 
an  hour  after  this,  a  runner  arrived  from  Turkey  town, 
with  a  letter  from  general  White,  stating,  that  after 
having  taken  up  the  line  of  march,  to  unite  at  Fort 
Strother,  he  had  received  orders  from  general  Cocke  to 
change  his  course  and  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  Chatau- 
ga  creek.  It  was  most  distressing  intelligence :  the  sick 
and  wounded  had  been  left  with  no  other  calculation  for 
their  safety  and  defence  than  that  this  detachment  of 
the  army,  agreeably  to  his  request,  would,  by  advanc- 
ing upon  Fort  Strother,  serve  the  double  purpose  of 
protecting  his  rear  and  enable  him  to  advance  still 
further  into  the  enemies  country.  The  information 
which  was  now  received,  proved  that  all  those  salutary 
anticipations  were  at  an  end,  and  that  evils  of  the 
worst  kind  might  be  the  consequence.  Intelligence 
so  disagreeable,  and  withal  so  unexpected,  filled  the 
mind  of  Jackson  with  apprehension  of  a  serious  and 
alarming  character ;  and  dreading  lest  the  enemy,  by 
taking  a  different  route,  should  attack  his  encampment 
in  his  absence,  he  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  bring- 
ing him  to  battle.  Orders  were  accordingly  given  to 
the  adjutant-general  to  prepare  the  line,  and  by  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  army  was  again  in  motion. 
The  infantry  proceeded  in  three  columns ;  the  cavalry 
in  the  same  order,  in  the  rear,  with  flankers  on  each 
>ving.  The  advance,  consisting  of  a  company  of  ar- 
tillerists, with  muskets,  two  companies  of  riflemen,  and 


XIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

one  of  spies,  marched  about  four  hundred  yards  in 
front,  under  the  command  of  colonel  Carroll,  in- 
spector-general, with  orders,  after  commencing  the 
action,  to  fall  back  on  the  centre,  so  as  to  draw  the 
enemy  after  them.  At  seven  o'clock,  having  arrived 
within  a  mile  of  the  position  they  occupied,  the 
columns  were  displayed  in  order  of  battle.  Two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  cavalry,  under  lieutenant-colonel 
Dyer,  were  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  centre,  as  a  corps 
de  reserve.  The  remainder  of  the  mounted  troops 
were  directed  to  advance  on  the  right  and  left,  and, 
after  encircling  the  enemy,  by  uniting  the  fronts  of 
their  columns,  and  keeping  their  rear  rested  on  the 
infantry,  to  face  and  press  towards  the  centre,  so  as  to 
leave  them  no  possibility  of  escape.  The  remaining 
part  of  the  army  was  ordered  to  move  up  by  heads  of 
companies ;  general  Hall's  brigade  occupying  the  right, 
and  general  Roberts'  the  left. 

About  eight  o'clock,  the  advance  having  arrived 
within  eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  who  were  concealed 
in  a  thick  shrubbery,  that  covered  the  margin  of  a 
small  rivulet,  received  a  heavy  fire,  which  they  instant- 
ly returned  with  much  spirit.  Falling  in  with  the 
enemy,  agreeably  to  their  instructions,  they  retired  to- 
wards the  centre,  but  not  before  they  had  dislodged 
them  from  their  position.  The  Indians,  now  scream- 
ing and  yelling  hideously,  rushed  forward  in  the  di- 
rection of  general  Roberts'  brigade,  a  few  companies 
of  which,  alarmed  by  their  numbers  and  yells,  gave 
way  at  the  first  fire.  Jackson,  to  fill  the  chasm  wrhich 
was  thu  created,  directed  the  regiment  commanded 
by  colonel  Bradley,  to  be  moved  up,  which,  from  spmq 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  61 

unaccountable  cause,  had  failed  to  advance  in  a  line 
with  the  others,  and  now  occupied  a  position  in 
rear  of  the  centre :  Bradley,  however,  to  whom  this 
order  was  given  by  one  of  the  staff,  omitted  to  exe- 
cute it  in  time,  alleging,  he  was  determined  to  remain 
on  the  eminence  which  he  then  possessed,  until  he 
should  be  approached  and  attacked  by  the  enemy. 
Owing  to  this  failure  in  the  volunteer  regiment,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  dismount  the  reserve,  which,  with 
great  firmness,  met  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  rapidly  moving  in  this  direction.  The  retreating 
militia,  somewhat  mortified  at  seeing  their  places  so 
promptly  supplied,  rallied,  and,  recovering  their  for- 
mer position  in  the  line,  aided  in  checking  the  advance 
of  the  savages.  The  action  now  became  general  along 
the  line,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  the  Indians  were  seen 
fleeing  in  every  direction.  On  the  left,  they  were  met 
and  repulsed  by  the  mounted  riflemen ;  but  on  the 
right,  owing  to  the  halt  of  Bradley's  regiment,  which 
was  intended  to  occupy  the  extreme  right, — and  to 
the  circumstance  of  colonel  Allcorn,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  wings  of  the  cavalry,  having  taken  too  large 
a  circuit,  a  considerable  space  was  left  between  the  in- 
fantry and  the  cavalry,  through  which  numbers  escaped. 
The  fight  was  maintained  with  great  spirit  and  effect 
on  both  sides,  as  well  before  as  after  the  retreat  com* 
menced ;  nor  did  the  pursuit  and  slaughter  terminate 
until  the  mountains  were  reached,  at  the  distance  of 
three  miles. 

Jackson,  in  his  report  of  this  action,  bestows  high 
commendation  on  the  officers  and  soldiers.  "Too 
much  praise,"  he  observes,  in  the  close  of  it,  "  cannot 


62  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

be  bestowed  on  the  advance,  led  by  colonel  Carroll, 
for  the  spirited  manner  in  which  they  commenced  and 
sustained  the  attack ;  nor  upon  the  reserve,  command- 
ed by  lieutenant-colonel  Dyer,  for  the  gallantry  with 
which  they  met  and  repulsed  the  enemy.  In  a  word, 
officers  of  every  grade,  as  well  as  privates,  realized  the 
high  expectations  I  had  formed  of  them,  and  merit  the 
gratitude  of  their  country." 

In  this  battle,  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  one  thou- 
sand and  eighty,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
were  left  dead  on  the  ground ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
many  were  killed  in  the  flight,  who  were  not  found 
when  the  estimate  was  made.  Probably  few  escaped 
unhurt.  Their  loss  on  this  occasion,  as  stated  since 
by  themselves,  was  not  less  than  six  hundred  :  that  of 
the  Americans  was  fifteen  killed,  and  eighty  wounded, 
several  of  whom  afterwards  died.  Jackson,  after  col- 
lecting his  dead  and  wounded,  advanced  his  army  be- 
yond the  fort,  and  encamped  for  the  night.  The 
Indians,  who  had  been  for  several  days  shut  up  by 
the  besiegers,  thus  fortunately  liberated  from  the  most 
dreadful  apprehensions,  and  severest  privations,  having 
for  some  time  been  entirely  without  water,  received 
the  army  with  all  the  demonstrations  of  gratitude  that 
savages  could  give.  Their  manifestations  of  joy  for 
their  deliverance,  presented  an  interesting  and  affect- 
ing spectacle.  Their  fears  had  been  already  greatly 
excited,  for  it  was  the  very  day  when  they  were  to 
have  been  assaulted,  and  when  every  soul  within  the 
fort  must  have  perished.  All  the  provisions  they  could 
spare,  from  their  scanty  stock,  they  sold  to  the  general, 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  63 

\vho,  purchasing  with  his  own  money,  distributed  them 
.amongst  the  soldiers,  who  were  almost  destitute. 

It  was  with  great  regret,  that  Jackson  now  found  he 
was  without  the  means  of  availing  himself  fully  of  the 
advantages  of  his  victory;  but  the  condition  of  his 
posts  in  the  rear,  and  the  want  of  provisions,  (having 
left  his  encampment  at  Fort  Strother  with  little  more 
than  one  day's  rations,)  compelled  him  to  return;  thus 
giving  the  enemy  time  to  recover  from  the  conster- 
nation of  their  first  defeat,  and  to  re-assemble  their 
forces. 

The  cause  which  prevented  general  White  from  act- 
ing in  obedience  to  his  order,  and  arriving  at  the  Ten 
Islands  at  a  moment  when  it  was  so  important,  and 
when  it  was  so  confidently  expected,  was  as  yet  un- 
known ;  the  only  certainty  upon  the  subject  was,  that 
for  the  present  it  wholly  thwarted  his  views,  and  laid 
him  under  the  necessity  of  returning.  This  mystery, 
hitherto  inexplicable,  was  sometime  after  explained, 
by  a  view  of  the  order  of  general  Cocke,  under  which 
White,  being  a  brigadier  in  his  division,  chose  to  act, 
rather  than  under  Jackson's.  General  Cocke  stated 
to  him,  he  had  understood  Jackson  had  crossed  the 
Coosa,  and  had  an  engagement  with  the  Indians.  "  I 
have  formed  a  council  of  officers  here,  and  proposed 
these  questions: — shall  we  follow  him,  or  cross  the 
river,  and  proceed  to  the  Creek  settlements  on  the 
Tallapoosa? — Both  were  decided  unanimously,  that 
he  should  not  be  followed,  but  that  we  should  proceed 
in  the  way  proposed."  He  remarked,  that  the  de- 
cision had  met  his  entire  approbation ;  and  directed 


64  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

White  forthwith  to  unite  with  him  at  his  encampment, 
where  he  should  wait,  fortifying  it  strongly  for  a  depot, 
until  he  should  arrive.  "If,"  said  he,  "we  follow 
general  Jackson  and  his  army,  we  must  suffer  for  sup- 
plies ;  nor  can  we  expect  to  gain  a  victory.  Let  us 
then  take  a  direction  in  which  we  can  share  some  of 
the  dangers  and  glories  of  the  field.  You  will  employ 
pilots,  and  advise  me  which  side  of  the  river  you  will 
move  up."  In  this,  as  in  every  other  measure,  it 
seemed  to  be  the  studied  aim  of  Cocke,  to  thwart  the 
views  and  arrest  the  successes  of  Jackson ;  and  perhaps 
jealousy,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  was  the  moving 
spring  to  his  conduct.  Both  were  major-generals, 
from  the  state  of  Tennessee,  sent  on  the  same  import- 
ant errand  to  check  an  insolent  foe,  who  had  practised 
the  most  cruel  and  unprovoked  outrages.  Which  of 
them  should  share  the  "dangers  and  glories  of  the  field," 
or  obtain  its  laurels,  was  not  so  important  to  the  country 
as  by  acting  in  concert  and  harmony,  endeavour  to  ac- 
complish the  grand  object  of  terminating  the  war,  and 
restoring  tranquillity  to  the  frontiers.  National,  and 
not  individual  advancement,  was  the  object  in  carrying 
an  army  into  the  field :  and  the  best  and  most  effectual 
mean  of  securing  this,  every  officer,  acting  on  liberal 
principles,  should  have  constantly  held  in  view :  the 
interest  and  repose  of  the  country,  not  their  individual 
advancement,  was  the  end  to  be  attained. 

Having  buried  his  dead  with  all  due  honour,  and 
provided  litters  for  the  wounded,  he  reluctantly  com- 
menced his  return  march  on  the  morning  succeeding 
the  battle.  He  confidently  hoped,  from  the  previous 
assurances  of  the  contractors,  that  by  the  time  of  his 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  65 

return  to  Fort  Strother,  sufficient  supplies  would  have 
arrived  there ;  but,  to  his  inexpressible  uneasiness,  he 
found  that  not  a  particle  had  been  forwarded  since  his 
departure,  and  that  what  had  been  left  was  already 
consumed.  Even  his  private  stores,  brought  on  at  his 
own  expense,  and  upon  which  he  and  his  staff  had 
hitherto  wholly  subsisted,  had  been,  in  his  absence, 
distributed  amongst  the  sick  by  the  hospital  surgeon, 
who  had  been  previously  instructed  to  do  so,  in  the 
event  their  wants  should  require  it.  A  few  dozen 
biscuit  which  remained  on  his  return,  were  given  to 
hungry  applicants,  without  being  tasted  by  himself  or 
family,  who  were  probably  not  less  hungry  than  those 
who  were  thus  relieved.  A  scanty  supply  of  indiffer- 
ent beef  taken  from  the  enemy,  or  purchased  of  the 
Cherokees,  was  now  the  only  support  afforded.  Thus 
left  destitute,  Jackson,  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness 
of  temper,  repaired  to  the  bullock  pen,  and  of  the 
offal  there  thrown  away,  provided  for  himself  and  staff, 
what  he  was  pleased  to  call,  and  seemed  really  to  think, 
a  very  comfortable  repast.  Tripes,  however,  hastily 
provided  in  a  camp,  without  bread  or  seasoning,  can 
only  be  palatable  to  an  appetite  very  high  whetted ; 
yet  this  constituted  for  several  days,  the  only  diet  at 
head- quarters,  during  which  time  the  general  seemed 
entirely  satisfied  with  his  fare.  Neither  this,  nor  the 
liberal  donations  by  which  he  disfurnished  himself,  to 
relieve  the  suffering  soldier,  deserves  to  be  ascribed  to 
ostentation  or  design:  the  one  flowed  from  benevo- 
lence, the  other  from  necessity,  and  a  desire  to  place 
before  his  men  an  example  of  patience  and  suffering, 
which  he  felt  might  be  necessary,  and  hoped  might  be 
serviceable.  Of  these  two  imputations,  no  Jiumaij 


66  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOfr. 

being,  invested  with  rank  and  power,  was  ever  more 
deservedly  free.  Charity  in  him  is  a  warm  and  active 
propensity  of  the  heart,  urging  him  by  an  instantane- 
ous impulse,  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  distressed, 
without  regarding,  or  even  thinking  of  the  conse- 
quences. Many  of  those  to  whom  it  was  extended, 
had  no  conception  of  the  source  that  supplied  them, 
and  believed  the  comforts  they  received  were,  indeed, 
drawn  from  stores  provided  for  the  hospital  depart- 
ment 

On  this  campaign,  a  soldier  one  morning,  with  £ 
woe-begone  countenance,  approached  the  general,  stat- 
ing that  he  was  nearly  starved,  that  he  had  nothing  to 
eat,  and  could  not  imagine  what  he  should  do.  He 
was  the  more  encouraged  to  complain,  from  perceiving 
that  the  general,  who  had  seated  himself  at  the  root  of 
a  tree,  waiting  the  coming  up  of  the  rear  of  the  army, 
was  busily  engaged  in  eating  something.  The  poor 
fellow  was  impressed  with  the  belief,  from  what  he  saw, 
that  want  only  attached  to  the  soldiers,  and  that  the 
officers,  particularly  the  general,  were  liberally  and  well 
supplied.  He  accordingly  approached  him  with  great 
confidence  of  being  relieved ;  Jackson  told  him,  that 
it  had  always  been  a  rule  with  him  never  to  turn  away 
a  hungry  man  when  it  was  in  his  power  to  relieve 
him.  I  will  most  cheerfully,  said  he,  divide  with  you 
what  I  have,  and  putting  his  hand  to  his  pocket,  drew 
forth  a  few  acorns,  from  which  he  had  been  feasting, 
adding  it  was  the  best  and  only  fare  he  had.  The 
soldier  seemed  much  surprised,  and  forthwith  circu- 
lated amongst  his  comrades,  that  their  general  was 
actually  subsisting  upon  acorns,  and  that  they  ought. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  67 

hence,  no  more  to  complain.  From  this  circumstance 
was  derived  the  story  heretofore  published  to  the 
world,  that  Jackson,  about  the  period  of  his  greatest 
suffering,  and  with  a  view  to  inspirit  them,  had  invited 
his  officers  to  dine  with  him,  and  presented  for  their 
repast,  water  and  a  tray  of  acorns. 

But  while  general  Jackson  remained  wholly  un- 
moved by  his  own  privations,  he  was  filled  with  soli- 
citude and  concern  for  his  army.  His  utmost  exer- 
tions, unceasingly  applied,  were  insufficient  to  remove 
the  sufferings  to  which  he  saw  them  exposed ;  and  al- 
though they  were  by  no  means  so  great  as  was  repre- 
sented, yet  were  they  undoubtedly  such  as  to  be  sensi- 
bly and  severely  felt.  Discontents,  and  a  desire  to 
return  home,  arose,  and  presently  spread  through  the 
camp;  and  these  were  still  further  embittered  and 
augmented,  by  the  arts  of  a  few  designing  officers, 
who,  believing  that  the  campaign  would  now  break  up, 
hoped  to  make  themselves  popular  on  the  return,  by 
encouraging  and  taking  part  in  the  complaints  of  the 
soldiery.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  those  officers  who 
pretended,  on  this  occasion,  to  feel  most  sensibly  for 
the  wants  of  the  army,  and  who  contrived  most  effectu- 
ally to  instigate  it  to  revolt,  had  never  themselves  been 
without  provisions ;  and  were,  at  that  very  moment, 
enjoying  in  abundance  what  would  have  relieved  the 
distresses  of  many,  had  it  been  as  generously  and 
freely  distributed  as  were  their  words  of  advice  and 
condolence. 

During  this  period  of  scarcity  and  discontent,  small 
quantities  of  supplies  were  occasionally  forwarded  by 


68  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  contractors,  but  not  a  sufficiency  for  present  want, 
and  still  less  to  remove  the  apprehensions  that  were 
entertained  for  the  future.  At  length,  revolt  began  to 
show  itself  openly.  The  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
militia,  collecting  in  their  tents  and  talking  over  their 
grievances,  determined  to  yield  up  their  patriotism, 
and  to  abandon  the  camp.  To  this  measure,  there 
were  good  evidences  for  believing  that  several  of  tne 
officers  of  the  old  volunteer  corps  exerted  themselves 
clandestinely,  and  with  great  industry,  to  instigate 
them ;  looking  upon  themselves  somewhat  in  the  light 
of  veterans,  from  the  discipline  they  had  acquired  in 
the  expedition  to  the  lower  country,  they  were  unwil- 
ling to  be  seen  foremost  in  setting  an  example  of 
mutiny,  and  wished  to  make  the  defection  of  others  a 
pretext  for  their  own, 

Jackson,  apprised  of  their  determination  to  abandon 
him,  resolved  to  oppose  it,  and  at  all  hazard,  to  pre- 
vent a  departure.  In  the  morning,  when  they  were  to 
carry  their  intentions  into  execution,  he  drew  up  the 
volunteers  in  front  of  them,  with  positive  commands 
to  prevent  their  progress,  and  compel  them  to  return 
to  their  former  position  in  the  camp.  The  militia 
seeing  this,  and  fearing  the  consequences  of  persisting 
in  their  purpose,  at  once  abandoned  it,  and  returned 
to  their  quarters  without  further  murmuring,  extolling 
in  the  highest  terms,  the  unalterable  firmness  of  the 
general. 

The  next  day,  however,  presented  a  singular  scene. 
The  volunteers,  who,  the  day  before,  had  been  the  in- 
struments for  compelling  the  militia  to  return  to  their 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  69 

duty,  seeing  the  destruction  of  those  hopes  on  which 
they  had  lately  built,  in  turn  began,  themselves,  to 
nrntiny.  Their  opposition  to  the  departure  of  the 
militia  was  but  a  mere  pretence  to  escape  suspicion, 
for  they  silently  wished  them  success.  They  now  de- 
termined to  move  off  in  a  body,  believing,  from  the 
known  disaffection  in  the  camp,  that  the  general  could 
find  no  means  to  prevent  it.  What  was  their  surprise, 
however,  when,  on  attempting  to  effectuate  their  re- 
solves, they  found  the  same  men  whom  they  had  so 
lately  opposed,  occupying  the  very  position  which  they 
had  done  the  day  previous,  for  a  similar  purpose,  and 
manifesting  a  fixed  determination  to  obey  the  orders 
of  their  general!  All  they  ventured  to  do,  was  to  take 
the  example  through,  and  like  them,  move  back  in 
peace  and  quietness  to  their  quarters.  This  was  a  curi- 
ous change  of  circumstances,  when  we  consider  in  how 
short  a  time  it  happened ;  but  the  conduct  of  the  militia, 
on  this  occasion,  must  be  ascribed  to  the  ingenuity  and 
management  of  the  general,  and  to  the  gratification 
they  felt,  in  being  able  to  defeat  the  views  of  those 
who  had  so  lately  thwarted  their  own.  To  this  may 
be  also  added,  the  consciousness  all  must  have  enter- 
tained, that  the  privations  of  which  they  complained, 
were  far  less  grievous  than  they  had  represented  them; 
by  no  means  sufficient  to  justify  revolt,  and  not  greater 
than  patriots  might  be  expected  to  bear  without  a 
murmur,  when  objects  of  such  high  consideration  were 
before  them.  But  anxious  to  return  to  their  families 
and  kindred, — wearied  of  their  difficulties  and  suffer- 
ings, and  desirous  to  recount  the  brilliant  exploits  of 
their  first  battle,  they  seized  with  eagerness  every 
pretext  for  exoneration,  and  listened  with  tpo  much 


70  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

docility  to  the  representations  of  those,  who  were  in- 
fluenced by  less  honourable  feelings.  Having  many 
domestic  considerations  to  attend  to — the  first  ebulli- 
tion of  resentment  being  cooled,  and  the  first  impulse 
of  curiosity  gratified,  there  were  no  motives  to  retain 
them  in  the  field,  but  a  remaining  sense  of  honour,  and 
a  fear  of  disgrace  and  punishment,  should  they  aban- 
don their  post  without  a  cause.  But  although  these 
motives  were  sufficient  for  the  present,  those  who 
were  governed  by  them  did  not  cease  to  wish,  that  a 
more  plausible  apology  might  offer  for  dispensing  with 
their  operation.  The  militia  continued  to  show  a  much 
more  obedient  and  patriotic  disposition  than  the  vo- 
lunteers; who,  having  adopted  a  course  which  they  dis- 
covered must  finally  involve  them  in  dishonour,  if  it 
should  fail,  were  exceedingly  anxious  for  its  success, 
and  that  it  might  have  the  appearance  of  being  found- 
ed on  justice.  On  this  subject,  the  pretensions  of  the 
cavalry  were  certainly  much  better  established ;  as 
they  were  entirely  without  forage,  and  without  the 
prospect  of  speedily  obtaining  any.  They  petitioned 
therefore  to  be  permitted  to  return  into  the  settled 
parts  of  the  country,  pledging  themselves,  by  their 
platoon  and  field  officers,  that  if  sufficient  time  were 
allowed  to  recruit  the  exhausted  state  of  their  horses, 
and  to  procure  their  winter  clothing,  they  would  re- 
turn to  the  performance  of  their  duty  whenever  called 
on.  The  general,  unable,  from  many  causes,  to  prose- 
cute the  campaign,  and  confiding  in  the  assurance 
given,  granted  the  prayer  of  their  petition,  and  they 
immediately  set  out  on  their  return. 

About  this  time  general  Jackson's  prospect  of  being 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  71 

able  to  maintain  the  conquests  he  had  made,  began  to 
be  cheered  by  letters  just  received  from  the  contrac- 
tors and  principal  wagon-master,  stating,  that  sufficient 
supplies  for  the  army  were  then  on  the  road,  and 
would  shortly  arrive :  but  discontents  to  an  alarming 
degree  still  prevailed  in  his  canip.  To  allay  them,  if 
possible,  he  hastened  to  lay  before  the  division  the  in- 
formation and  letters  he  had  received,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  invited  the  field  and  platoon  officers  to  his  quar- 
ters, to  consult  on  the  measures  proper  to  be  pursued. 
Having  assembled  them,  and  well  knowing  that  the 
flame  of  discontent,  which  had  so  lately  shown  itself 
was  only  for  the  present  smothered,  and  might  yet 
burst  forth  in  serious  injury,  he  addressed  them  in  an 
animated  speech,  in  which  he  extolled  their  patriotism 
and  achievements;  lamented  the  privations  to  which 
they  had  been  exposed,  and  endeavoured  to  reanimate 
them  by  the  prospect  of  speedy  relief,  which  he  ex- 
pected with  confidence  on  the  following  day.  He 
spoke  of  the  immense  importance  of  the  conquests 
they  had  already  made,  and  of  the  dreadful  conse- 
quences that  must  result,  should  they  be  now  aban- 
doned. "  What,"  continued  he,  "  is  the  present  situa- 
tion of  our  camp  ?  a  number  of  our  fellow  soldiers  are 
wounded,  and  unable  to  help  themselves.  Shall  it  be 
said  that  we  are  so  lost  to  humanity  as  to  leave  them 
in  this  condition  ?  Can  any  one,  under  these  circum- 
stances, and  under  these  prospects,  consent  to  an 
abandonment  of  the  camp ;  of  all  that  we  have  acquired 
in  the  midst  of  so  many  difficulties,  privations,  and 
dangers ;  of  what  it  will  cost  us  so  much  to  regain ; 
of  what  we  never  can  regain,: — our  brave  wounded 
companions,  who  will  be  murdered  by  our  unthinking, 


72  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

unfeeling  inhumanity  ?  Surely  there  can  be  none  such  ! 
No,  we  will  take  with  us,  when  we  go,  our  wounded 
and  sick.  They  must  not — shall  not  perish  by  our 
cold  blooded  indifference.  But  why  should  you  de- 
spond ?  I  do  not,  and  yet  your  wants  are  not  greater 
than  mine.  To  be  sure  we  do  not  live  sumptuously: 
but  no  one  has  died  of  hunger,  or  is  likely  to  die ;  and 
then  how  animating  are  our  prospects !  Large  supplies 
are  at  Deposit,  and  already  are  officers  despatched  to 
hasten  them  on.  Wagons  are  on  the  way :  a  large 
riumber  of  beeves  are  in  the  neighbourhood ;  and  de- 
tachments are  out  to  bring  them  in. — All  these  re- 
sources surely  cannot  fail.  I  have  no  wish  to  starve 
you — none  to  deceive  you.  Stay  contentedly ;  and  if 
supplies  do  not  arrive  in  two  days,  we  will  all  march 
back  together,  and  throw  the  blame  of  our  failure 
where  it  should  properly  lie ;  until  then  we  certainly 
have  the  means  of  subsisting;  and  if  we  are  compelled 
to  bear  privations,  let  us  remember  that  they  are  borne 
for  our  country,  and  are  not  greater  than  many — per- 
haps most  armies  have  been  compelled  to  endure.  I 
have  called  you  together  to  tell  you  my  feelings  and 
my  wishes ;  this  evening  think  on  them  seriously ;  and 
let  me  know  yours  in  the  morning." 

Having  retired  to  their  tents,  and  deliberated  on  the 
measures  most  proper  to  be  adopted  in  this  emer- 
gency, the  officers  of  the  volunteer  brigade  came  to 
the  conclusion,  that  "  nothing  short  of  marching  the 
army  immediately  back  to  the  settlements  could  pre- 
vent those  difficulties  and  that  disgrace  which  must 
attend  a  forcible  desertion  of  the  camp  by  his  soldiers." 
The  officers  of  the  militia  determined  differently,  and 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  73 

reported  a  willingness  to  maintain  the  post  a  few  days 
longer,  that  it  might  be  ascertained  whether  or  not  a 
sufficiency  of  provisions  could  really  be  had.  "  If  it 
can,  let  us  proceed  with  the  campaign — if  not,  let  us 
be  marched  back  to  where  it  can  be  procured."  The 
general,  who  greatly  preferred  the  latter  opinion, 
nevertheless,  to  allay  excitement,  was  disposed  to 
gratify  those  who  appeared  unwilling  to  submit  to  fur- 
ther hardships ;  and  with  this  view  ordered  general 
Hall  to  march  his  brigade  to  Fort  Deposit,  and  after 
satisfying  their  wants,  to  return  and  act  as  an  escort 
to  the  provisions.  The  second  regiment,  however, 
unwilling  to  be  outdone  by  the  militia,  consented  to 
remain ;  and  the  first  proceeded  alone.  On  this  oc- 
casion he  could  not  forbear  to  remark,  that  men  for 
whom  he  had  ever  cherished  so  warm  an  affection,  and 
for  whom  he  would  at  all  times  have  made  any  sacri- 
fice, desiring  to  abandon  him  at  a  moment  when  their 
presence  was  so  particularly  necessary,  filled  him  with 
emotions  which  the  strongest  language  was  too  feeble 
to  express.  "  I  was  prepared,"  he  continued,  "  to  en- 
dure every  evil  but  disgrace ;  and  this,  as  I  never  can 
submit  to  myself,  I  can  give  no  encouragement  to  in 
others." 

Two  days  had  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  the 
volunteers,  and  supplies  had  not  arrived.  The  militia, 
with  great  earnestness,  now  demanded  a  performance 
of  the  pledge  that  had  been  given — that  they  should 
be  marched  back  to  the  settlements.  Jackson,  on  giv- 
ing them  an  assurance  that  they  should  return,  if  relief 
did  not  reach  them  in  two  days,  had  indulged  a  con- 
fidence that  it  would  certainly  arrive  by  that  time; 

K 


74  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  now,  from  the  information  he  had  received,  felt 
more  than  ever  certain  that  it  could  not  be  far  distant, 
Having,  however,  pledged  himself,  he  could  use  no 
arguments  or  entreaties  to  detain  them  any  longer, 
and  immediately  took  measures  for  complying  with 
their  wishes,  and  the  promise  he  had  made  them.  This 
was,  to  him,  a  moment  of  the  deepest  dejection.  He 
foresaw  how  difficult  it  would  be,  ever  to  accomplish 
the  object  upon  which  his  heart  was  so  devoutly  fixed, 
should  he  lose  the  men  who  were  now  with  him ;  or 
even  to  regain  the  conquests  he  had  made,  if  his  pre- 
sent posts  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
While  thus  poridering  on  the  gloomy  prospect,  he  lift- 
ed up  his  hands  and  e&cl aimed,  with  a  look  and  man- 
ner which  showed  how  much  he  felt — "  If  only  two 
men  will  remain  with  me,  I  will  never  abandon  this 
post."  Captain  Gordon,  of  the  spies,  facetiously  re- 
plied, "  you  have  one,  general,  let  us  look  if  we  can't 
find  another*"  and  immediately,  with  a  zeal  suited  to 
the  occasioii,  undertook,  with  some  of  the  general 
staff,  to  raise  volunteers;  and  in  a  little  while  succeed- 
ed in  procuring  one  hundred  and  nine*  who  declared 
a  determination  to  remain  and  protect  the  post.  The 
general  greatly  rejoiced  that  he  would  not  be  compell- 
ed to  an  entire  abandonment  of  his  position,  now  set 
out  towards  Deposit,  with  the  remainder  of  the  army, 
who  were  given  distinctly  to  understand,  that  on  meet- 
ing supplies  they  were  td  return  and  prosecute  the 
campaign.  This  was  an  event,  whichj  as  it  had  been 
expected  and  foretold,  soon  took  place :  they  had  not 
proceeded  more  than  ten  or  twelve  miles,  when  they 
met  a  hundred  and  fifty  beeves;  but  a  sight  which  gave 
to  Jackson  so  much  satisfaction,  was  to  them  the  most 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

disagreeable  and  unwelcome.  Their  faces  being  now 
turned  towards  home,  no  spectacle  could  be  more  hate- 
ful than  one  which  was  to  change  their  destination* 
They  were  halted,  and  having  satisfied  their  hungry 
appetites,  the  troops,  with  the  exception  of  such  as 
were  necessary  to  proceed  with  the  sick  and  wounded, 
were  ordered  to  return  to  the  encampment — he  him- 
self intending  to  see  the  contractors,  and  establish 
more  effectual  arrangements  for  the  future.  So  great 
was  their  aversion  to  returning,  that  they  preferred  a 
violation  of  their  duty  and  their  pledged  honour.  Low 
murmurings  ran  along  the  lines,  and  presently  broke 
out  into  open  mutiny.  In  spite  of  the  order  they  had 
received,  they  began  to  revolt,  and  one  company  was 
already  moving  off,  in  a  direction  towards  home.  They 
had  proceeded  some  distance,  before  information  of 
their  departure  was  had  by  Jackson.  Irritated  at  their 
conduct,  in  attempting  to  violate  the  promise  they  had 
given,  and  knowing  that  the  success  of  future  opera- 
tions depended  on  the  result,  the  general  pursued,  un- 
til he  came  near  a  part  of  his  staff,  and  a  few  soldiers, 
who,  with  General  Coffee,  had  halted  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  ahead.  He  ordered  them  to  form  immediate- 
ly across  the  road,  and  to  fire  on  the  mutineers  if  they 
attempted  to  proceed.  Snatching  up  their  arms,  these 
faithful  adherents  presented  a  front  which  threw  the 
deserters  into  affright,  and  caused  them  to  retreat  pre- 
cipitately to  the  main  body.  Here,  it  was  hoped,  the 
matter  would  end,  and  that  no  further  opposition  would 
be  made  to  returning.  This  expectation  was  not  real- 
ized ;  a  mutinous  temper  began  presently  to  display 
itself  throughout  the  whole  brigade.  Jackson  having 
left  his  aid-de-camp,  major  Reid,  engaged  in  making 


76  UFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

up  some  despatches,  had  gone  out  alone  amongst  his 
troops,  who  were  at  some  distance ;  on  his  arrival,  he 
found  a  much  more  extensive  mutiny  than  that  which 
had  just  been  quelled.  Almost  the  whole  brigade  had  put 
itself  into  an  attitude  for  moving  forcibly  off.  A  crisis 
had  arrived;  and  feeling  its  importance,  he  determined 
to  take  no  middle  ground,  but  to  triumph  or  perish.  E(e 
was  still  without  the  use  of  his  left  arm ;  but,  seizing 
a  musket,  and  resting  it  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  he 
threw  himself  in  front  of  the  column,  and  threat- 
ened to  shoot  the  first  man  who  should  attempt  to  ad- 
vance. In  this  situation  he  was  found  by  major  Reid 
and  general  Coffee,  who,  fearing  from  the  length  of  his 
absence,  that  some  disturbance  had  arisen,  hastened 
where  he  was,  and  placing  themselves  by  his  side, 
awaited  the  result  in  anxious  expectation.  For  many 
minutes  the  column  preserved  a  sullen,  yet  hesitating 
attitude,  fearing  to  proceed  in  their  purpose,  and  dis- 
liking to  abandon  it.  In  the  mean  time,  those  who 
remained  faithful  to  their  duty,  amounting  to  about 
two  companies,  were  collected  and  formed  at  a  short 
distance  in  advance  of  the  troops,  and  in  rear  of  the 
general,  with  positive  directions  to  imitate  his  exanir 
pie  in  firing,  if  they  attempted  to  proceed,  At  length, 
finding  no  one  bold  enough  to  advance,  and  overtaken 
by  those  fears  which  in  the  hour  of  peril  always  beset 
persons  engaged  in  what  they  know  to  be  a  bad  cause, 
they  abandoned  their  purpose,  and  turning  quietly 
round,  agreed  to  return  to  their  posts.  It  is  very  cer- 
tain, that,  but  for  the  firmness  of  the  general,  at  this 
critical  moment,  the  campaign  would  have  been  bro- 
ken up,  and  most  probably  not  qommenqe^l  again. 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  '  77 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Talladega,  the  Hillabee 
tribes,  who  had  been  the  principal  sufferers  on  that 
occasion,  applied  to  general  Jackson  for  peace ;  declar- 
ing their  willingness  to  receive  it  on  such  terms  as  he 
might  be  pleased  to  dictate.  His  decision  had  been 
already  returned,  stating  to  them  that  his  government 
had  taken  up  arms,  to  bring  to  a  proper  sense  of  duty, 
a  people  to  whom  she  had  ever  shown  the  utmost 
kindness,  and  who,  nevertheless,  had  committed  against 
her  citizens  the  most  unprovoked  depredations ;  and 
that  she  would  lay  them  down  only  when  certain  that 
this  object  was  attained.*  "  Upon  those,"  continued 
he,  "  who  are  disposed  to  become  friendly,  I  neither 
wish  nor  intend  to  make  war;  but  they  must  afford 
evidences  of  the  sincerity  of  their  professions ;  the  pri- 
soners and  property  they  have  taken  from  us,  and  the 
friendly  Creeks,  must  be  restored ;  the  instigators  of 
the  war,  and  the  murderers  of  our  citizens,  must  be 
surrendered ;  the  latter  must  and  will  be  made  to  feel 

*  This  communication  did  not  arrive  in  time  : — general  White, 
who  had  been  detached  for  that  purpose,  having,  the  morning  on 
which  it  was  written,  attacked  and  destroyed  their  town,  killed  sixty, 
and  made  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  prisoners.  The  event  was  un- 
fortunate ;  and  in  it  may  perhaps  be  found  the  reason  why  these 
savages,  in  their  after  battles,  fought  with  the  desperation  they  did, 
obstinately  refusing  to  ask  for  quarter.  They  believed  themselves 
attacked  by  Jackson's  army ;  they  knew  they  had  asked  peace  upon 
his  own  terms.  When,  therefore,  under  these  circumstances,  they 
saw  themselves  thus  assailed,  they  no  longer  considered  that  any 
pacific  disposition  they  might  manifest  would  afford  them  protection 
from  danger;  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  war  of  extermination.  In  their 
battles,  afterwards,  there  is  no  instance  of  their  asking  for  quarter,  or 
even  manifesting  a  disposition  to  receire  it 


78  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOJN. 

the  foree  of  our  resentment.    Long  shall  they  remem- 
ber Fort  Minims  in  bitterness  and  tears." 

Having  stated  to  general  Cocke,  whose  division  was 
acting  in  this  section  of  the  nation,  the  propositions 
that  had  been  made  by  the  Hillabee  clans,  with  the 
answer  he  had  returned,  and  urged  him  to  detach 
to  Fort  Strother  six  hundred  of  his  men,  to  aid  in  the 
defence  of  that  place,  during  his  absence,  and  in  the 
operations  he  intended  to  resume  on  his  return,  he 
proceeded  to  Deposit  and  Ditto's  landing,  where  the 
most  effectual  means  in  his  power  were  taken  with  the 
contractors,  for  obtaining  regular  supplies  in  future. 
They  were  required  to  furnish,  immediately,  thirty 
days'  rations  at  Fort  Sirother,  forty  at  Talladega,  and 
as  many  at  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  5 
two  hundred  pack  horses  and  forty  wagons  were  put 
in  requisition  to  facilitate  their  transportation.  Un- 
derstanding, now,  that  the  whole  detachment  from 
Tennessee,  had,  by  the  president,  been  received  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  he  persuaded  him- 
self that  the  difficulties  he  had  heretofore  encounter- 
ed, would  not  recur,  and  that  the  want  of  supplies 
would  not  again  be  a  cause  of  impeding  his  operations. 
He  now  looked  forward  with  sanguine  expectations, 
to  the  speedy  accomplishment  of  the  objects  of  the 
expedition. 

The  volunteers,  who  were  at  Deposit,  began  to 
manifest  the  same  unwillingness  to  return  to  their  duty 
that  the  militia  had  done,  and  were  about  to  break  out 
into  the  same  spirit  of  mutiny  and  revolt ;  but  were 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  79 

restrained  by  an  animated  address  of  the  general,  who* 
having  assembled  them  together,  painted,  in  the  most 
glowing  colours,  all  the  consequences  that  were  to  be 
apprehended,  if,  from  any  defalcation  of  theirs,  the 
campaign  should  be  abandoned,  or  ineffectually  prose- 
cuted. By  this  mean,  he  succeeded  once  more  in  re- 
storing quietness  to  his  troops. 

He  now  set  out  on  his  return  to  Fort  Strother,  and 
was  delighted  to  find,  by  the  progress  of  the  works,  the 
industry  that  had  been  used  in  his  absence.  But  the 
satisfaction  he  felt,  and  the  hopes  he  began  to  cherish, 
were  of  short  continuance.  Although  he  had  succeed- 
ed in  stilling  the  tumult  of  the  volunteers,  and  in  pre- 
vailing on  them  to  return  to  their  posts,  it  was  soon 
discovered  he  had  not  eradicated  their  deep-rooted 
aversion  to  a  further  prosecution  of  the  war.  Nothing 
is  more  difficult  than  to  re-animate  men  who  have  once 
lost  their  spirits,  or  inspire  with  new  ardour  those  in 
whom  it  has  lately  become  extinct.  Even  where  the 
evils,  which  produced  the  change,  are  removed,  apolo- 
gies will  be  sought,  and  pretexts  seized,  for  justifying 
and  preserving  the  present  tone  of  mind.  The  volun- 
teers who  had  so  lately  clamoured  about  bread,  now^ 
when  they  were  no  longer  hungry,  began  to  clamour, 
with  equal  earnestness,  about  their  term  of  service. 
Having  lately  made  an  effort  to  forsake  the  drudgery 
of  the  field,  and  failed,  they  were  disposed  to  avail 
themselves  of  any  pretexts,  seemingly  plausible,  to 
obtain  success.  They  insisted  that  the  period,  for 
which  they  had  undertaken  to  act,  would  end  on  the 
10th  of  December,  that  being  the  termination  of  a 
year  from  the  day  they  had  first  entered  into  service ; 


80  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSO.N. 

and  although  they  had  been  a  greater  part  of  the  time 
disengaged,  and  unemployed,  that  recess  was  never- 
theless to  be  taken  into  the  computation.    Jackson  re- 
plied, that  the  law  of  congress,  under  which  they  had 
been  tendered  and  accepted,  requiring  one  year's  ser- 
vice out  of  two,  could  contemplate  nothing  less  than  an 
actual  service  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days ; 
and,  until  that  were  performed,  he  could  not,  unless 
specially  authorized,  undertake  to   discharge  them. 
But  as  this  was  a  question  not  likely  to  be  settled  by 
argument,  and  as  the  consequences  were  easily  to  be 
foreseen,  if  they  should  persist  in  their  demands,  the 
general  began  to  think  of  providing  other  means  for  a 
continuance  of  the  campaign,  that,  even  in  the  worst 
extreme,  he  might  not  be  unprepared  to  act.  Ordering 
general  Roberts  to  return,  and  fill  up  the  deficiencies  in 
his  brigade,  he  now  despatched  colonel  Carroll  and  ma- 
jor Searcy,  one  of  his  aids-de-camp,  into  Tennessee, 
to  raise  volunteers,  for  six  months,  or  during  the  cam- 
paign ;  writing,  at  the  same  time,  to  many  respectable 
characters,  he  exhorted  them  to  contribute  all  their 
assistance  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  object    To  a 
letter,  just  received  from  the  reverend  Gideon  Black- 
burn, assuring  him  that  volunteers  from  Tennessee 
would  eagerly  hasten  to  his  relief,  if  they  knew  their 
services  were  wanted,  he  replied,  "  Reverend  Sir, — • 
Your  letter  has  been  just  received  :  I  thank  you  for  it; 
I  thank  you  most  sincerely.     It  arrived  at  a  moment 
when  my  spirits  needed  such  a  support. 

"  I  left  Tennessee  with  an  army,  brave,  I  believe, 
as  any  general  ever  commanded.  I  have  seen  them  in 
battle  and  ray  opinion  of  their  bravery  is  not  changed. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  81 

But  their  fortitude — on  this  too  I  relied — has  been  too 
severely  tested.  Perhaps  I  was  wrong,  in  believing 
that  nothing  but  death  could  conquer  the  spirits  of 
brave  men.  I  am  sure  I  was ;  for  my  men,  I  know, 
are  brave ;  yet  privations  have  rendered  them  discon- 
tented : — that  is  enough.  The  expedition  must  never- 
theless be  prosecuted  to  a  successful  termination. 
New  volunteers  must  be  raised,  to  conclude  what  has 
been  so  auspiciously  begun  by  the  old  ones.  Gladly 
would  I  save  these  men  from  themselves,  and  insure 
them  a  harvest  which  they  have  sown ;  but  if  they 
will  abandon  it  to  others,  it  must  be  so. 

"  You  are  good  enough  to  say,  if  I  need  your  assist- 
ance, it  will  be  cheerfully  afforded  :  I  do  need  it  great- 
ly. The  influence  you  possess  over  the  minds  of  men 
is  great  and  well-founded,  and  can  never  be  better  ap- 
plied than  in  summoning  volunteers  to  the  defence  of 
their  country,  their  liberty,  and  their  religion.  While 
we  fight  the  savage,  who  makes  war  only  because  he 
delights  in  blood,  and  who  has  gotten  his  booty,  when 
he  has  scalped  his  victim,  we  are,  through  him,  con- 
tending against  an  enemy  of  more  inveterate  character, 
and  deeper  design — who  would  demolish  a  fabric  ce- 
mented by  the  blood  of  our  fathers,  and  endeared  to  us 
by  all  the  happiness  we  enjoy.  So  far  as  my  exertions 
can  contribute,  the  purposes,  both  of  the  savage  and 
his  instigator,  shall  be  defeated ;  and  so  far  as  yours 
can,  I  hope — I  know,  they  will  be  employed.  I  have 
said  enough. — I  want  men,  and  want  them  immediate- 
ly." 

Anxious  to  prosecute  the  campaign  as  soon  as  pos-. 


82  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

sible,  that  by  employing  his  troops  actively,  he  might 
dispel  from  their  minds  those  discontents  so  frequent- 
ly manifested,  he  wrote  to  general  Cocke,  desiring  and 
urging  him  to  unite  with  him,  immediately,  at  the  Ten 
Islands,  with  fifteen  hundred  men.  He  assured  him 
that  the  mounted  men,  who  had  returned  to  the  settle- 
ments for  subsistence,  and  to  recruit  their  horses, 
would  arrive  by  the  12th  of  the  month.  He  wished 
to  commence  his  operations  directly,  "  knowing  they 
would  be  prepared  for  it,  and  well  knowing  they  would 
require  it."  "  I  am  astonished,"  he  continued,  "  to 
hear  that  your  supplies  continue  deficient.  In  the 
name  of  God,  what  are  the  contractors  doing  and  about 
what  are  they  engaged  ?  Every  letter  I  receive  from 
governor  Blount,  assures  me  I  am  to  receive  plentiful 
supplies  from  them,  and  seems  to  take  for  granted, 
notwithstanding  all  I  have  said  to  the  contrary,  that 
they  have  been  hitherto  regularly  furnished.  Con- 
sidering the  generous  loan  the  State  has  made  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  facility  of  procuring  bread  stuffs  in 
East  Tennessee,  and  of  transporting  them  by  water  to 
Fort  Deposit,  it  is  to  me  wholly  unaccountable  that 
not  a  pound  has  ever  arrived  at  that  place.  This  evil 
must  continue  no  longer — it  must  be  remedied.  I  ex- 
pect, therefore,  and  through  you  must  require,  that 
in  twenty  days  they  furnish  at  Deposit  every  necessa- 
ry supplv."* 

*  Independent  of  an  advantageous  contract  made  with  the  govern- 
ment, the  state  of  Tennessee  had  extended  to  this  contractor  a  liberal 
loan,  that  immediate  supplies  might  be  forwarded.  Unfortunately, 
however,  and  it  is  a  misfortune  that  will  always  continue  so  long  as 
the  present  mode  of  supplying  our  armies  is  persisted  in,  the  con- 
tract was  disregarded}  nor  did  complaints  on  the  subject  cease,  even 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX.  83 

Whilst  these  measures  were  taking,  the  volunteers, 
through  several  of  their  officers,  were  pressing  on  the 
consideration  of  the  general,  the  expiration  of  their 
term  of  service,  and  claiming  to  be  discharged  on  the 
10th  of  the  month.  From  the  colonel  who  command- 
ed the  second  regiment,  he  received  a  letter,  dated  the 
4th,  in  which  was  attempted  to  be  detailed  their  whole 
ground  of  complaint.  He  began  by  stating,  that  pain- 
ful as  it  was,  he,  nevertheless,  felt  himself  bound  to 
disclose  an  important  and  unpleasant  truth ;  that,  on 
the  10th,  the  service  would  be  deprived  of  the  regi- 

to  the  close  of  the  war.  Great  as  was  the  evil,  no  adequate  remedy 
was  at  hand :  nor  was  it  confined  to  any  particular  section ;  but  in  all 
Directions,  where  our  armies  moved,  were  complaints  heard,  and 
their  operations  frustrated  through  the  misconduct  of  contractors. 
An  advancing  army,  already  having  within  its  reach  decided  advan- 
tages, is  made  to  halt,  and  to  retrograde,  or  starve.  The  remedy  is 
to  sue  the  contractor;  and,  after  twelve  or  eighteen  months  of  law, 
a  jury  decides  how  far  he  has  or  has  not  broken  his  covenant.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  government  has  lost  the  most  decided  advan- 
tages— advantages  which,  had  they  been  secured,  might  have  saved 
millions  of  treasure,  and  hundreds  of  lives. 

Contractors  are  a  class  of  men  never  to  be  influenced  by  any  thing 
of  patriotic  motive.  An  accurate  attention  to  their  interest,  and  a 
minute  calculation  of  dollars  and  cents  are  the  amount  of  their  good 
feelings ;  and  whether  an  army  shall  suffer  or  press  forward  success- 
fully are  unimportant  considerations :  with  them  profit  and  the  ac- 
cumulation of  wealth  is  the  only  concern ;  and  whether  the  army 
they  have  contracted  to  feed,  fares  sumptuously  or  starves — whether 
the  service  be  aided  or  injured,  are  but  secondary  considerations 
with  those  who  seek  after  wealth,  and  who  are  first  for  themselves. 
If  the  government  will  have  contractors,  they  should  be  appended  to 
the  army,  and  made  subject  to  martial  rule,  and  martial  larv ;  for, 
until  then,  they  will  be  wholly  inefficacious.  They  might  be  ruled 
through  their  fears — certainly  not  through  any  feelings  of  patriotism 
'the  attempt  has  been  too  often  imsuccessfally  gssayed* 


84  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

ment  he  commanded.  He  seemed  to  deplore,  with 
great  sensibility,  the  scene  that  would  be  exhibited  on 
that  day,  should  opposition  be  made  to  their  departure ; 
and  still  more  sensibly,  the  consequences  that  would 
result  from  a  disorderly  abandonment  of  the  camp.  He 
stated  they  had  all  considered  themselves  finally  dis- 
charged on  the  20th  of  April,  and  never  knew  to  the 
contrary*  until  they  saw  his  order  of  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, requiring  them  to  rendezvous  at  Fayetteville, 
on  the  4th  of  October ;  for  the  first  time,  they  then 
learned  that  they  owed  further  services,  their  dis- 
charge to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  "  Thus  situ- 
ated, there  was  considerable  opposition  to  the  order; 
on  which  the  officers  generally,  as  I  am  advised,  and  I 
know  myself  in  particular,  gave  it  as  an  unequivocal 
opinion,  that  their  term  of  service  would  terminate  on 
the  10th  of  December. 

"  They  therefore  look  to  their  general,  who  holds 
their  confidence,  for  an  honourable  discharge  on  that 
day ;  and  that,  in  every  respect,  he  will  see  that  jus- 
tice be  done  them.  They  regret  that  their  peculiar 
situations  and  circumstances  require  them  to  leave 
their  general  at  a  time  when  their  services  are  impor- 
tant to  the  common  cause. 

"  It  would  be  desirable,"  he  continued,  "  that  those 
men  who  have  served  with  honour,  should  be  honour- 
ably discharged,  and  that  they  should  return  to  their 
families  and  friends  without  even  the  semblance  of 
disgrace;  with  their  general  they  leave  it  to  place 
them  in  that  situation.  They  have  received  him  as  an 
affectionate  father,  whilst  they  have  honoured,  revered. 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  $5 

and  obeyed  him ;  but,  having  devoted  a  considerable 
portion  of  their  time  to  the  service  of  their  country,  by 
which  their  domestic  concerns  are  greatly  deranged, 
they  wish  to  return  and  attend  to  their  own  affairs." 

Although  this  communication  announced  the  deter- 
mination of  only  a  part  of  the  volunteer  brigade,  he 
had  already  abundant  evidence  that  the  defection  was 
but  too  general.  The  difficulties  which  the  general 
had  heretofore  been  compelled  to  encounter,  from  the 
discontents  of  his  troops,  might  well  induce  him  to  re- 
gret that  a  spirit  of  insubordination  should  again  threat- 
en to  appear  in  his  camp.  That  he  might,  if  possible, 
prevent  it,  he  hastened  to  lay  before  them  the  error 
and  impropriety  of  their  views,  and  the  consequences 
involved,  should  they  persist  in  their  purpose. 

"  I  know  not,"  he  observed,  "  what  scenes  will  be 
exhibited  on  the  10th  instant,  nor  what  consequences 
are  to  flow  from  them  here  or  elsewhere ;  but  as  I  shall 
have  the  consciousness  that  they  are  not  imputable  to 
any  misconduct  of  mine,  I  trust  I  shall  have  the  firm- 
ness not  to  shrink  from  a  discharge  of  my  duty. 

"  It  will  be  well,  however,  for  those  who  intend  to 
become  actors  in  those  scenes,  and  who  are  about  to 
hazard  so  much  on  the  correctness  of  their  opinions, 
to  examine  beforehand,  with  great  caution  and  delibe- 
ration, the  grounds  on  which  their  pretensions  rest 
Are  they  founded  on  any  false  assurances  of  mine,  or 
upon  any  deception  that  has  been  practised  towards 
them  ?  Was  not  the  act  of  congress,  under  which  they 
are  engaged,  directed,  by  my  general  order,  to  be  read 


86  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  expounded  to  them  before  they  enrolled  them- 
selves ?  That  order  will  testify,  and  so  will  the  recol- 
lection of  every  general  officer  of  my  division.  It  is 
not  pretended,  that  those  who  now  claim  to  be  dis- 
charged, were  not  legally  and  fairly  enrolled  under  the 
act  of  congress  of  the  6th  of  February,  1812.  Have 
they  performed  the  service  required  of  them  by  that 
act,  and  which  they  then  solemnly  undertook  to  per- 
form ?  That  required  one  year's  service  out  of  two, 
to  be  computed  from  the  day  of  rendezvous,  unless 
they  should  be  sooner  discharged.  Has  one  year's 
service  been  performed?  This  cannot  be  seriously 
pretended.  Have  they  then  been  discharged  ?  It  is 
said  they  have,  and  by  me.  To  account  for  so  extra- 
ordinary a  belief!  it  may  be  necessary  to  take  a  review 
of  past  circumstances. 

"  More  than  twelve  months  have  elapsed  since  we 
were  called  upon  to  avenge  the  injured  rights  of  our 
country.  We  obeyed  the  call !  In  the  midst  of  hard- 
ships, which  none  but  those  to  whom  liberty  is  dear 
could  have  borne  without  a  murmur,  we  descended 
the  Mississippi.  It  was  believed  our  services  were 
wanted  in  the  prosecution  of  the  just  war  in  which 
our  country  was  engaged,  and  we  were  prepared  to 
render  them.  But,  though  we  were  disappointed  in 
our  expectations,  we  established  for  Tennessee  a  name 
which  will  long  do  her  honour.  At  length,  we  receiv- 
ed a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  war  directing  our  dis- 
mission. You  well  recollect  the  circumstances  of 
wretchedness  in  which  this  order  was  calculated  to 
place  us.  By  it,  we  were  deprived  of  every  article  of 
public  property ;  no  provision  was  made  for  the  pay- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  87 

inent  of  our  troops,  or  their  subsistence  on  their  return 
march ;  whilst  many  of  our  sick,  unable  to  help  them- 
selves, must  have  perished.  Against  the  opinion  of 
many,  I  marched  them  back  to  their  homes  before  I 
dismissed  them.  Your  regiment,  at  its  own  request, 
was  dismissed  at  Columbia.  This  was  accompanied 
with  a  certificate  to  each  man,  expressing  the  acts  un- 
der which  he  had  been  enrolled,  and  the  length  of  the 
tour  he  had  performed.  This  it  is  which  is  now  at- 
tempted to  be  construed  "  a  final  discharge  ;"  but 
surely  it  cannot  be  forgotten  by  any  officer  or  soldier, 
how  sacredly  they  pledged  themselves,  before  they 
were  dismissed,  or  received  that  certificate,  cheerfully 
to  obey  the  voice  of  their  country,  if  it  should  re-sum- 
mon them  into  service  ;  neither  can  it  be  forgotten,  I 
dare  hope,  for  what  purpose  that  certificate  was  given ; 
it  was  to  secure,  if  possible,  to  those  brave  men,  who 
had  shown  such  readiness  to  serve  their  country,  cer- 
tain extra  emoluments,  specified  in  the  seventh  section 
of  the  act  under  which  they  had  engaged,  in  the  event 
they  were  not  recalled  into  service  for  the  residue  of 
their  term. 

*  Is  it  true,  then,  that  my  solicitude  for  the  interest 
of  the  volunteers,  is  to  be  made  by  them  a  pretext  for 
disgracing  a  name  which  they  have  rendered  illustri- 
ous ?  Is  a  certificate,  designed  solely  for  their  benefit, 
to  become  the  rallying  word  for  mutiny  ? — strange  per- 
version of  feeling  and  of  reasoning !  Have  I  really  any 
power  to  discharge  men  whose  term  of  service  has  not 
expired  ?  If  I  were  w^eak  or  wicked  enough  to  at- 
tempt the  exercise  of  such  a  power,  does  any  one  be- 
lieve, the  soldier  would  be  thereby  exonerated  from  the 


88  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

obligation  he  has  voluntarily  taken  upon  himself  to  his 
government  ?  I  should  become  a  traitor  to  the  impor- 
tant concern  which  has  been  entrusted  to  my  manage- 
ment, while  the  soldier,  who  had  been  deceived  by  a 
false  hope  of  liberation,  would  be  still  liable  to  redeem 
his  pledge ; — I  should  disgrace  myself,  without  bene- 
fitting  you. 

"  I  can  only  deplore  the  situation  of  those  officers 
who  have  undertaken  to  persuade  their  men  that  their 
term  of  service  will  expire  on  the  10th.  In  giving  their 
opinions  to  this  effect,  they  have  acted  indiscreetly,  and 
without  sufficient  authority.  It  would  be  the  most 
pleasing  act  of  my  life,  to  restore  them  with  honour  to 
their  families.  Nothing  would  pain  me  more  than  that 
any  other  sentiments  should  be  felt  towards  them,  than 
those  of  gratitude  and  esteem.  On  all  occasions,  it  has 
been  my  highest  happiness  to  promote  their  interest, 
and  even  to  gratify  their  wishes,  where,  with  propriety, 
it  could  be  done.  When  in  the  lower  country,  believ- 
ing that,  in  the  order  for  their  dismissal,  they  had  been 
improperly  treated,  I  even  solicited  the  government  to 
discharge  them,  finally,  from  the  obligations  into  which 
they  had  entered.  You  know  the  answer  of  the  secre- 
tary of  war ; — that  neither  he  nor  the  president,  as  he 
believed,  had  the  power  to  discharge  them.  How, 
tfyen,  can  it  be  required  of  me  to  do  so  ? 

* 

"  The  moment  it  is  signified  to  me  by  any  competent 
authority,  even  by  the  governor  of  Tennessee,  to  whom 
I  have  written  on  the  subject,  or  by  general  Pinckney, 
who  is  now  appointed  to  the  command,  that  the  volun- 
teers may  be  exonerated  from  further  service,  that 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  89 

moment  I  will  pronounce  it,  with  the  greatest  satisfac- 
tion. I  have  only  the  power  of  pronouncing  a  dis- 
charge,— not  of  giving  it,  in  any  case  ; — a  distinction 
which  I  would  wish  should  be  borne  in  mind.  Al- 
ready have  I  sent  to  raise  volunteers,  on  my  own  re* 
sponsibility,  to  complete  a  campaign  which  has  been 
so  happily  begun,  and  thus  far,  so  fortunately  prose- 
cuted. The  moment  they  arrive,  and  I  am  assured, 
that,  fired  by  our  exploits,  they  will  hasten  in  crowds, 
on  the  first  intimation  that  we  need  their  services,  they 
will  be  substituted  in  the  place  of  those  who  are  dis- 
contented here  ;  the  latter  will  then  be  permitted  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes,  with  all  the  honour  which,  under 
such  circumstances,  they  can  carry  along  with  them, 
But  I  still  cherish  the  hope,  that  their  dissatisfaction 
and  complaints  have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  I  can- 
not, must  not  believe,  that  the  "  Volunteers  of  Ten* 
nessee,"  a  name  ever  dear  to  fame,  will  disgrace  them- 
selves, and  a  country  which  they  have  honoured,  by 
abandoning  her  standard,  as  mutineers  and  deserters  ; 
but  should  I  be  disappointed,  and  compelled  to  resign 
this  pleasing  hope,  one  thing  I  will  not  resign- — my 
duty.  Mutiny  and  sedition,  so  long  as  I  possess  the 
power  of  quelling  them,  shall  be  put  down ;  and  even 
when  left  destitute  of  this,  I  will  still  be  found,  in  the 
last  extremity,  endeavouring  to  discharge  the  duty  I 
owe  my  country  and  myself." 

To  the  platoon  officers,  who  addressed  him  on  the 
same  subject,  he  replied  with  nearly  the  same  spirited 
feeling ;  but  discontent  was  too  deeply  fastened,  and 
by  designing  men  had  been  too  artfully  fomented,  to 
be  removed  by  any  thing  like  argument  or  entreaty. 

Ji 


90  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

At  length,  on  the  evening  of  the  9th,  general  Hall  has- 
tened to  the  tent  of  Jackson  with  information  that  his 
whole  brigade  was  in  a  state  of  mutiny,  and  making 
preparations  to  move  forcibly  off.  This  was  a  measure 
which  every  consideration  of  policy,  duty,  and  honour, 
required  Jackson  to  oppose ;  and  to  this  purpose  he 
instantly  applied  all  the  means  he  possessed.  He  im- 
mediately issued  the  following  general  order : 

"  The  commanding  general  being  informed  that  an 
actual  mutiny  exists  in  his  camp,  all  officers  and  sol- 
diers are  commanded  to  put  it  down* 

"  The  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  first  brigade  will, 
without  delay,  parade  on  the  west  side  of  the  fort,  and 
await  further  orders."  The  artillery  company,  with 
two  small  field  pieces,  being  posted  in  the  front  and 
rear,  and  the  militia,  under  the  command  of  colonel 
Wynne,  on  the  eminences,  in  advance,  were  ordered  to 
prevent  any  forcible  departure  of  the  volunteers. 

The  general  rode  along  the  line,  which  had  been 
previously  formed  agreeably  to  his  orders,  and  address- 
ed them,  by  companies,  in  a  strain  of  impassioned  elo- 
quence. He  feelingly  expatiated  on  their  former  good 
conduct,  and  the  esteem  and  applause  it  had  secured 
them;  and  pointed  to  the  disgrace  which  they  must 
heap  upon  themselves,  their  families,  and  country,  by 
persisting,  even  if  they  could  succeed,  in  their  present 
mutiny.  He  told  them  however,  they  should  not  suc- 
ceed but  by  passing  over  his  body ;  that  even  in  oppos- 
ing their  mutinous  spirit,  he  should  perish  honourably 
— by  perishing  at  his  post,  and  in  the  discharge  of  his 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  9 1 

duty.  "  Reinforcements" — he  continued,  "  are  prepar- 
ing to  hasten  to  my  assistance :  it  cannot  be  long  before 
they  will  arrive.  I  am,  too,  in  daily  expectation  of  re- 
ceiving information  whether  you  may  be  discharged 
or  not — until  then,  you  must  not,  and  shall  not  retire, 
I  have  done  with  entreaty, — it  has  been  used  long 
enough. — I  will  attempt  it  no  more.  You  must  now  de- 
termine whether  you  will  go  or  peaceably  remain:  if 
you  still  persist  in  your  determination  to  move  forcibly 
off,  the  point  between  us  shall  soon  be  decided."  At 
first  they  hesitated ; — he  demanded  an  explicit  and 
positive  answer.  They  still  hesitated,  and  he  com- 
manded the  artillerist  to  prepare  the  match  ;  he  him- 
self remaining  in  front  of  the  volunteers,  and  within 
the  line  of  fire,  which  he  intended  soon  to  order. 
Alarmed  at  his  apparent  determination,  and  dreading 
the  consequences  involved  in  such  a  contest ;  "  Let  us 
return,"  was  presently  lisped  along  the  line,  and  soon 
after  determined  upon.  The  officers  now  came  for- 
ward and  pledged  themselves  for  their  men,  who 
either  nodded  assent,  or  openly  expressed  a  willingness 
to  retire  to  their  quarters,  and  remain  without  further 
tumult,  until  information  were  had,  or  the  expected 
aid  should  arrive.  Thus  passed  away  a  moment  of  the 
greatest  peril,  and  pregnant  with  important  conse* 
quences. 

Calculating  philosophers  may  maintain  the  opinion, 
that  conduct  like  that  pursued  on  this  occasion,  de- 
serves no  other  name  than  rashness  :  it  certainly  was 
determined,  and  proved  in  the  end  decisive.  At  such 
a  moment,  hesitation  must  have  been  succeeded  by  a 
defeat  of  purpose,  and  an  entire  abandonment  by  his 


92  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

troops,  To  have  been  forsaken  in  such  a  manner,  and 
under  such  circumstances,  no  expectation  could  have 
been  entertained  of  drawing  to  the  service,  in  any 
short  time,  additional  troops.  The  consequence  must 
have  been,  that  the  enemy,  not  subdued,  but  only  ex- 
asperated, might,  unmolested,  have  assailed  our  unpro- 
tected frontiers,  and  drenched  them  in  the  blood  of 
our  defenceless  citizens.  These  anticipations  were 
alarming,  and  only  to  be  prevented  by  some  effort^ 
bold  and  daring,  as  the  one  attempted.  It  was  hazard- 
ous, yet  it  succeeded. 

Although  the  immediate  execution  of  their  purpose 
was  thus  for  the  present  prevented,  it  was  presently 
ascertained  not  to  be  wrholly  abandoned,  and  that  no- 
thing could  be  expected  from  their  future  fidelity  and 
services.  Jackson,  therefore,  determined  to  rid  him- 
self, as  soon  as  possible,  of  men  whose  presence  an- 
swered no  other  end  than  to  keep  alive  discontents  in 
his  camp.  He  accordingly  prepared  an  order  to  gene- 
ral Hall,  to  march  his  brigade  to  Nashville,  and  to  dis- 
pose of  them  as  he  should  be  directed  by  the  governor 
of  Tennessee.  Previous  to  promulgating  this,  he  re- 
solved to  make  one  further  effort  to  retain  them,  and 
to  make  a  last  appeal  to  their  honour  and  patriotism. 
For  this  purpose,  having  assembled  them  before  the 
€ort,  on  the  13th,  he  directed  his  aid-de-camp  to  read 
the  following  address : 

"  On  the  10th  of  December,  1812,  you  assembled 
at  the  call  of  your  country.  Your  professions  of  pa- 
triotism, and  ability  to  endure  fatigue,  were  at  once 
tested  by  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  Breaking 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  93 

your  way  through  sheets  of  ice,  you  descended  the 
Mississippi,  and  reached  the  point  at  which  you  were 
ordered  to  be  halted  and  dismissed.  All  this  you  bore 
without  murmuring.  Finding  that  your  services  were 
not  needed,  the  means  for  marching  you  back  were 
procured;  every  difficulty  was  surmounted,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  point  from  which  you  embarked  was  re- 
gained, the  order  for  your  dismissal  was  carried  into 
effect  The  promptness  with  which  you  assembled, 
the  regularity  of  your  conduct,  your  attention  to  your 
duties,  the  determination  manifested,  on  every  occa- 
sion, to  carry  into  effect  the  wishes  and  will  of  your 
government,  placed  you  on  elevated  ground.  You  not 
only  distinguished  yourselves,  but  gave  to  your  state  a 
distinguished  rank  with  her  sisters ;  and  led  your  go- 
vernment to  believe,  that  the  honour  of  the  nation 
would  never  be  tarnished  when  entrusted  to  the  holy 
keeping  of  the  a  Volunteers  of  Tennessee." 

"  In  the  progress  of  a  war,  which  the  implacable  and 
eternal  enemy  of  our  independence  induced  to  be  waged, 
we  found  that,  without  cause  on  our  part,  a  portion  of 
the  Creek  nation  was  added  to  the  number  of  our  foes. 
To  put  it  down,  the  first  glance  of  the  administration 
fell  on  you ;  and  you  were  again  summoned  to  the  field 
of  honour.  In  full  possession  of  your  former  feelings, 
that  summons  was  cheerfully  obeyed.  Before  your 
enemy  thought  you  in  motion,  you  were  at  Tallushat- 
chee  and  Talladega.  The  thunder  of  your  arms  was 
a  signal  to  them  that  the  slaughter  of  your  country- 
men was  about  to  be  avenged.  You  fought,  you  con- 
quered !  barely  enough  of  the  foe  escaped  to  recount 
to  their  savage  associates  your  deeds  of  valour.  You 


94  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

returned  to  this  place  loaded  with  laurels  and  the  ap- 
pjauses  of  your  country. 

"  Can  it  be,  that  these  brave  men  are  about  to  be- 
come the  tarnishers  of  their  own  reputation ! — the  de- 
stroyers of  a  name  which  does  them  so  much  honour  ? 
Yes,  it  is  a  truth  too  well  disclosed,  that  cheerfulness 
has  been  exchanged  for  complaints : — murmurings  and 
discontents  alone  prevail.  Men  who  a  little  while  since 
were  offering  up  prayers  for  permission  to  chastise 
the  merciless  savage — who  burned  with  impatience  to 
teach  them  how  much  they  had  hitherto  been  indebt- 
ed to  our  forbearance,  are  now,  when  they  could  so 
easily  attain  their  wishes,  seeking  to  be  discharged. 
The  heart  of  your  general  has  been  pierced.  The  first 
object  of  his  military  affections,  and  the  first  glory  of 
his  life,  were  the  volunteers  of  Tennessee !    The  very 
name  recalls  to  him  a  thousand  endearing  recollections. 
But  these  men — these  volunteers,  have  become  mu- 
tineers.    The  feelings  he  would  have  indulged,  your 
general  has  been  compelled  to  suppress — he  has  been 
compelled  by  a  regard  to  that  subordination,  so  neces- 
sary to  the  support  of  every  army,  and  which  he  is 
bound  to  have  observed,  to  check  the  disorder  which 
would  have  destroyed  you.     He  has  interposed  his 
authority  for  your  safety — to  prevent  you  from  dis* 
gracing  yourselves  and  your  country.  Tranquillity  has 
been  restored  in  our  camp — contentment  shall  also  be 
restored ;  this  can  be  done  only  by  permitting  those 
to  retire  whose  dissatisfaction  proceeds  from  causes 
that  cannot  be  controlled.     This  permission  will  now 
be  given.    Your  country  will  dispense  with  your  ser- 
vices, if  you  have  no  longer  a  regard  for  tha.t  fame 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON-  95 

Which  you  have  so  nobly  earned  for  yourselves  and 
jher.     Yes,  soldiers,  you  who  were  once  so  brave,  and 
to  whom  honour  was  so  dear,  shall  be  permitted  to 
return  to  your  homes,  if  you  still  desire  it.    But  in 
what  language,  when  you  arrive,  will  you  address  your 
families  and  friends?  Will  you  tell  them  that  you  aban- 
doned your  general  and  your  late  associates  in  arms 
within  fifty  miles  of  a  savage  enemy ;  who  equally  de- 
lights in  shedding  the  blood  of  the  innocent  female  and 
her  sleeping  babe,  as  that  of  the  warrior  contending  in 
battle  ?    Lamentable,  disgraceful  tale"!  If  your  disposi- 
tions are  really  changed ;  if  you  fear  an  enemy  you  so 
lately  conquered;  this  day  will  prove  it.    I  now  put  it 
to  yourselves; — determine  upon  the  part  you  will  act, 
influenced  only  by  the  suggestions  of  your  own  hearts, 
and  your  own  understandings.     All  who  prefer  an  in- 
glorious retirement,  shall  be  ordered  to  Nashville,  to 
be  discharged,  as  the  president  or  the  governor  may 
direct     Those  who  choose  to  remain,  and  unite  with 
their  general  in  the  further  prosecution  of  the  campaign, 
can  do  so,  and  will  thereby  furnish  a  proof  that  they 
have  been  greatly  traduced;  and  that  although  dis* 
affection  and   cowardice  has  reached  the  hearts  of 
some,  it  has  not  reached  theirs.  To  such  my  assurance 
is  given,  that  former  irregularities  will  not  be  attribu- 
ted to  them.     They  shall  be  immediately  organized 
into  a  separate  corps,  under  officers   of  their  own 
choice ;  and,  in  a  little  while,  it  is  confidently  believed 
an  opportunity  will  be  afforded  of  adding  to  the  laurels 
you  have  already  won." 

Warm  and  feeling  as  was  the  appeal,  it  failed  of  the 
desired  effect.     Captain  Williamson  alone  agreed  to 


96  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOS. 

remain.  Finding  that  their  determination  to  abandon 
the  service  could  not  be  changed,  and  that  every  prin- 
ciple of  patriotism  was  forgotten,  the  general  commu- 
nicated his  order  to  general  Hall,  and  directed  him  to 
march  his  brigade  to  Nashville,  and  await  such  instruc- 
tions as  he  might  receive  from  the  president,  or  the 
governor  of  Tennessee. 

General  Cocke,  on  the  12th,  had  arrived  at  Fort 
Strother  with  fifteen  hundred  men ;  but  it  was  found 
from  his  report,  that  no  part  of  his  troops  had  been 
brought  into  the  field  under  the  requisition  of  the  pre- 
sident of  the  United  States ;  and  that  the  term  of  ser- 
vice of  the  greater  portion  of  them  would  expire  in  a 
few  days ;  and  of  the  whole  in  a  few  weeks.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  he  was  ordered  into  his  district,  to  com- 
ply with  that  requisition,  and  to  carry  back  with  him 
and  to  discharge  near  their  homes,  those  of  his  troops, 
the  period  of  whose  service  was  within  a  short  time  of 
being  ended.  The  reason  of  this  was  explained  in  an 
address  to  the  brigade,  in  which  they  were  entreated, 
when  they  should  have  obtained  the  necessaries  which 
a  winters  campaign  should  render  necessary,  to  re- 
turn into  the  field,  and  aid  in  completing  what  had 
been  so  successfully  begun.  Colonel  Lilliard's  regi- 
ment, which  consisted  of  about  eight  hundred,  and 
whose  term  of  service  would  not  expire  in  less  than 
four  weeks,  was  retained  to  assist  in  defending  the 
present  post,  and  in  keeping  open  the  communication 
with  Deposit,  until  the  expected  reinforcements  should 
arrive  from  Tennessee. 

Meantime  the  cavalry  and  mounted  riflemen,  who, 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  97 

under  an  express  stipulation  to  return  and  complete 
the  campaign,  had  been  permitted  to  retire  into  the 
settlements,  to  recruit  their  horses  and  procure  winter 
clothing,  had,  at  the  time  appointed,  re-assembled  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Huntsville.  But,  catching  the 
infection  of  discontent  from  the  infantry,  on  their  re- 
turn march,  they  began  now  to  clamour  with  equal 
earnestness  for  a  discharge.  The  cavalry  insisted  that 
they  were  as  well  entitled  to  it  as  the  infantry ;  and 
the  riflemen,  that  they  could  not  be  held  in  service 
after  the  24th,  that  being  three  months  from  the  time 
they  had  been  mustered :  and  that  as  that  day  was  so 
near  at  hand,  it  was  wholly  useless  to  advance  any 
farther. 

General  Coffee,  who  was  confined  at  Huntsville  by 
severe  indisposition,  employed  all  the  means  which 
his  debilitated  strength  would  allow,  to  remove  the 
dangerous  impressions  they  had  so  readily  imbibed, 
and  to  reclaim  them  to  a  sense  of  honour  and  of  duty; 
but  all  his  efforts  proved  unavailing.  He  immediately 
ordered  his  brigade  to  head-quarters  :  they  had  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as  Ditto's  ferry,  when  the  greater  part  of 
them  refusing  to  cross  the  river,  returned  in  a  tumul- 
tuous manner,  committing  on  the  route  innumerable 
irregularities,  which  there  was  no  force  sufficient  to  re- 
strain. Not  more  than  seven  hundred  of  the  brigade 
could  be  gotten  over;  who,  having  marched  to  Deposit, 
were  directed  to  be  halted,  until  further  orders  could 
be  obtained  from  general  Jackson.  At  this  place  they 
committed  the  wildest  extravagancies ;  profusely  wast- 
ing the  public  grain,  which,  with  much  difficulty  and 
labour,  had  been  collected  for  the  purpose  of  the  cam] 


98  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

paign ;  and  indulging  in  every  species  of  excess. 
Whilst  thus  rioting,  they  continued  to  clamour  vocif- 
erously for  their  discharge.  General  Coffee  finding 
his  utmost  efforts  ineffectual,  to  restrain  or  to  quiet 
them,  wrote  to  Jackson,  acquainting  him  with  their 
conduct  and  demands,  and  enclosing  a  petition  that 
had  been  addressed  to  him  by  the  rifle  regiment.  In 
his  letter  he  says,  "  I  am  of  opinion,  th§  sooner  they 
can  be  gotten  clear  of  the  better ;  they  are  consuming 
the  forage  that  will  be  necessary  for  others,  and  I  am 
satisfied  they  will  do  no  more  good.  I  have  told  them, 
their  petition  would  be  submitted  to  you,  who  would 
decide  upon  it  in  the  shortest  possible  time."  This 
was  truly  disagreeable  news  to  the  general.  Already 
sufficiently  harassed  by  the  discontents  and  opposition 
of  his  troops,  now  that  they  had  retired,  he  looked 
anxiously  forward,  in  hopes  that  the  tranquillity  of  his 
camp  would  be  no  more  assailed.  On  the  brigade  of 
Coffee,  he  had  placed  great  reliance,  and,  from  the 
pledges  it  had  given  him,  entertained  no  fears  but  that 
it  would  return  and  act  with  him,  as  soon  as  he  should 
be  ready  to  proceed.  He  replied  to  general  Coffee, 
and  taking  a  view  of  the  grounds  and  causes  of  their 
complaints,  endeavoured  to  reconcile  their  objections, 
and  persuade  them  to  a  discharge  of  the  duties  which 
they  had  undertaken,  and  covenanted  to  perform. 

The  signers  of  that  address,  observes  the  general, 
commence  by  saying,  "  that  jealousy  is  prevailing  in 
our  camp,  with  respect  to  the  understanding  between 
themselves  and  the  government,  relative  to  the  service 
required  of  them ;  and,  believing  it  to  be  its  policy  to 
act  fairly,  are  of  opinion  that  a  full  explanation  of  their 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  99 

case  will  have  a  good  effect  in  promoting  the  cause  in 
which  they  are  engaged." 

"  What  can  have  given  rise  to  this  jealousy,  I  am 
at  a  loss  to  conjecture ;  for  surely  no  unfair  practices 
were  ever  used  by  their  government  to  get  them  into 
the  service,  nor  to  keep  them  in  it  longer  than  they 
had  engaged  to  remain.  How  long  that  was,  can  be 
easily  determined  by  the  law  under  which  they  were 
accepted.  This  was  open  to  all,  and  must  be  presum- 
ed to  have  been  understood  by  all.  But  for  a  com- 
plete answer,  I  send  you  and  refer  you  to  the  written 
pledges,  of  both  the  field  and  platoon  officers,  before 
they  returned  to  recruit  their  horses,  and  obtain  their 
winter  clothing.  As  they  seem  completely  to  have 
forgotten,  remind  them  of  all  they  contain,' — of  their 
assurances  given,  that,  if  what  they  asked  were  grant- 
ed, they  would  return,  at  the  shortest  possible  notice, 
prepared  and  willing  to  go  through  the  winter  ser- 
vice, or  to  the  end  of  the  campaign.  Sensible  of  their 
necessities,  and  confiding  fully  in  the  promises  they 
made,  and  signed  with  their  own  names,  I  permitted 
them,  on  the  22d  ultimo,  to  return  into  the  settlements, 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  fresh  horses  and  addition- 
al clothing ;  and  required  them,  to  which  they  readily 
agreed,  to  rendezvous  in  Madison  on  the  8th  instant. 
They  have  returned,  and  now,  when  every  calculation 
is  made  upon  their  services,  agreeably  to  the  pledges 
that  have  been  given,  they  send,  (instead  of  coming,) 
this  address.  Under  these  circumstances,  what  "  ex- 
planation of  their  case"  do  they  want  ?  What  expla- 
nation do  they  expect  their  general  to  give  them  ? 
Barely  to  remind  them  of  their  written  pledges,  with- 


100  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOtf. 

out  attempting  any  exposition  of  the  law,  under  which 
they  have  engaged,  is  surely  a  sufficient  answer.  An 
exposition  of  it  will  not  be  attempted  by  me ;  not  only 
because  it  is  considered  unnecessary,  but  because  my 
opinion  on  it  has  been  already  frequently  given. 

They  remark  further,  that  "  they  are  returning  like 
deserters,  souring  the  minds  of  the  people  against  the 
government  and  the  officers,  which  will  prevent  others 
from  entering  into  the  service  of  their  country,  and 
paralyze  the  spirit  of  every  citizen  of  Tennessee." 
That  they  are  returning  home,  not  only  "like  de- 
serters," but  in  the  real  genuine  character  of  such,  is 
indeed  a  lamentable  truth.  That  they  are  also  endea- 
vouring to  sour  the  minds  of  the  people  against  the 
government  and  the  officers,  and  that  this  attempt  v  ill 
most  probably  be  successful,  and  prevent  many  from 
entering  the  service,  is,  I  am  fearful,  too  true.  But,  in 
the  name  of  God,  to  whom  is  this  to  be  ascribed — to 
the  government,  or  to  their  general  ?  or  rather  is  it 
not  more  justly  chargeable  to  themselves,  who,  having 
entered  the  camp  from  patriotic  motives,  as  they  say — 
having  engaged  with  their  government,  and  pledged 
themselves  to  their  general,  to  prosecute  the  cam- 
paign and  avenge  the  injured  rights  of  their  country, 
forget  both  the  engagement  and  the  pledge,  and  all 
their  boasted  patriotism,  at  a  moment  when  their  ser- 
vices are  the  most  confidently  expected,  and  the  most 
eminently  needed. 

"  I  cannot  conceive  how  the  idea  has  arisen,  that 
they  are  attempted  to  be  detained  without  their  con- 
sent. To  say  nothing  of  the  length  of  service  really 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  101 

required  by  the  law  under  which  they  were  accepted, 
have  not  the  field  officers  given  their  written  consent 
to  remain  during  the  winter,  or  until  the  campaign  be 
completed?  Have  they  not  also  given  a  pledge  for 
their  men,  and  the  officers  commanding  companies  and 
platoons ;  and  have  not  those  company  and  platoon 
officers,  too,  given  a  similar  assurance  for  themselves 
and  their  men  ?  Let  them  look  to  these  pledges,  and 
blush  at  their  conduct 

"  They  also  remark,  "  If  any  tender  of  services,  for 
a  longer  time  than  a  tour  of  duty,  (three  months)  has 
been  made  to  the  general  government,  we  beg  leave 
to  say,  it  was  without  our  consent  or  knowledge ;  and 
we  are  convinced  that,  in  all  contracts  that  are  bind- 
ing, both  parties  must  fully  understand  and  consent 
thereto.  We  wish  to  be  permitted  to  return  home,  and 
to  return  under  such  circumstances  as  will  entitle  us 
to  be  praised,  instead  of  blamed,  by  those  who  so  gal- 
lantly led  us  to  battle." 

tt  To  this  I  answer,  that  no  tender  for  any  specified 
term  of  service  was  ever  made  to  the  general  govern- 
ment by  me,  or  by  any  other  within  my  knowledge. 
As  regards  their  law  remark,  that  men,  to  be  bound 
by  a  contract,  must  understand  and  consent  to  it,  it 
will  be  a  sufficient  answer,  that  those  who  volunteer 
their  services,  under  a  public  law,  are  presumed  to 
understand  fully  all  its  provisions ;  or,  at  any  rate,  that 
those  who  sign  an  instrument  drawn  up  by  them- 
selves, cannot  reasonably  be  supposed  ignorant  of  its 
contents,  or  unwilling  to  abide  by  its  terms.  But  they 
must  be  lukewarm  patriots  indeed,  who,  in  the  mo- 


102  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

ment  of  danger  and  necessity,  can  halt  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duty  to  argue  and  quibble  on  the  con- 
struction of  laws  and  statutes. 

"  As  to  their  wish  "  to  be  praised  instead  of  censur- 
ed," I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  such  a  sentiment 
should  hold  a  place  in  the  breasts  of  men  who  are  about 
to  abandon  the  cause  of  their  country  at  such  a  moment 
as  this,  and  under  such  engagements.  Even  if  it  be 
possible  for  such  men  to  desire  praise,  from  their  pre- 
sent conduct  they  cannot  expect  it,  nor  believe  them- 
selves entitled  to  receive  it.  Before  they  can  have 
determined  to  enter  upon  such  a  course,  they  must 
undoubtedly  have  prepared  their  minds  to  meet  all  the 
contumely  and  contempt  that  an  indignant  country 
can  heap  upon  such  wind-blown  patriots  ;  who,  when 
at  home,  clamoured  so  vociferously  about  her  injured 
rights,  and  having  taken  up  arms  to  defend  them, 
abandon  them  at  a  moment  \vhen  they  are  most  in 
danger.  A  grosser  aliment  than  praise  must  be  the 
proper  nutriment  for  such  minds.  If  it  were  possible 
that  any  doubt  could  exist,  under  the  law  by  which 
their  services  were  engaged,  has  not  the  utmost  cer- 
tainty been  produced,  by  their  own  written  undertak- 
ings, subsequently  made?  But  on  the  question,  whe- 
ther their  country,  at  this  time,  needs  their  services  in 
the  field,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  And  is  patriotism  to 
be  measured  by  months,  and  weeks,  and  days  ?  Is  it 
by  such  a  computation,  that  the  volunteer,  embarked 
in  his  country's  defence,  hopes  to  entitle  himself  to  the 
thanks  of  that  country,  when  her  rights  are  assailed, 
and  his  efforts  can  protect  them  ? — Be  it  so ;  let  it  be 
even  granted,  that  these  men's  engagements  have  ex- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  103 

pired  under  the  law ; — has  their  sacred  pledge,  in  writ- 
ing, and  has  their  love  of  country  expired  ?  If  these 
cannot  bind  them  to  a  faithful  performance  of  their 
duty,  I  know  of  nothing  by  which  I  can  hope  to  hold 
them." 

Few  men  had  ever  imposed  on  them  the  necessity 
of  contending  with  greater  difficulties.  The  volun- 
teers, proud  of  the  name,  and  conceiving  themselves 
superior  to  the  militia,  had  just  fought  their  fii;st  bat- 
tle ;  and  if  suffering  had  not  destroyed  their  early  ex- 
citement, the  same  fervour  with  which  they  sat  out 
might  have  still  continued ;  but  the  negligence,  or  in- 
terested views  of  contractors,  had  introduced  such  dis- 
contents, as  that  to  repress  them,  boldness  and  energy 
were  required.  But  to  effect  this,  as  events  proved,  was 
impracticable,  inasmuch  as  the  termination  of  one  dif- 
ficulty seemed  but  the  commencement  of  another.  It 
is  not  wonderous  then,  that  the  patience  of  the  gene- 
ral should  have  been  exhausted ;  or  in  the  address  pre- 
sented he  should  have  indulged  those  feelings  which 
the  occasion  and  the  circumstances  were  so  well  cal- 
culated to  inspire. 

To  have  addressed  them  in  a  strain  less  pointed  and 
independent,  or  to  have  endeavoured  to  sooth  their 
discontents  by  entreaty,  might  at  some  other  time,  and 
under  different  circumstances,  have  been  better  re- 
sorted to  for  success  ;  but  the  ineffectual  attempts  that 
had  been  made  with  his  infantry,  who  had  forsaken 
the  camp,  in  spite  of  every  thing  that  persuasion, 
threats,  or  honour  could  suggest,  left  but  a  narrow 
basis  on  which  to  erect  a  hope  of  his  being  able  to  de- 


104  JLIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

tain  them.  There  was  but  a  single  course  left ;  to 
point  them  to  the  pledge  they  had  given,  and  appeal 
directly  to  their  honour,  believing  that  if  this  were  un- 
successful, there  was  "  nothing  by  which  he  could 
hope  to  hold  them." 

Jackson  had  just  received  a  letter  from  the  governor 
of  Tennessee,  in  answer  to  his  frequent  and  pressing 
inquiries,  as  to  the  disposition  which  should  be  made 
of  the  volunteers.  It  recommended  what  had  already, 
from  necessity,  been  done ;  to  dismiss — not  discharge 
them,  because  the  latter  was  not  in  the  power  of  either 
of  them : — nor  was  their  dismission  to  be  given,  be- 
cause founded  in  right;  but  because,  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances, their  presence  could  not  prove  beneficial, 
but  highly  injurious.  To  induce  them  contentedly  to 
remain,  the  governor  had  suggested  but  one  argument, 
which  had  not  already  been  unsuccessfully  attempted; 
"  that  it  was  very  doubtful  if  the  government  would 
pay  them  for  the  services  they  had  already  rendered, 
if  abandoned  without  her  authority."  It  is  true,  that 
avarice  sometimes  alters  a  determination,  when  other 
considerations  have  failed  of  success ;  whether  this  ap- 
peal might  not  result  beneficially  with  the  cavalry, 
whose  presence  was  greatly  desired,  was  at  least  worthy 
the  trial.  It  was  important,  however,  to  bring  it  be- 
fore them  in  some  delicate  way  to  awaken  inquiry,  and 
guard  against  offence.  The  letter  was  therefore  en- 
closed for  their  inspection,  accompanied  with  these  re- 
marks : — "  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  governor 
Blount,  which  I  hasten  to  transmit,  that  you  may  avail 
yourselves  of  whatever  benefits  and  privileges  it  holds 
out  You  will  perceive,  that  he  does  not  consider  he 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSQN,  105 

has  any  power  to  discharge  you,-— neither  have  I : — 
but  you  have  my  permission  to  retire  from  the  service, 
if  you  are  still  desirous  of  doing  so,  and  are  prepared 
to  risk  the  consequences." 

These  letters,  so  far  from  answering  the  desired  end, 
had  a  directly  contrary  effect.  The  governor's  was  no 
sooner  read,  than  they  eagerly  laid  hold  of  it  to  sup- 
port the  resolution  they  had  already  formed ;  and 
without  further  ceremony  or  delay,  abandoned  the 
campaign,  with  their  colonel  at  their  head,  who,  so 
far  from  having  endeavoured  to  reconcile  them,  is  be- 
lieved, by  secret  artifices,  to  have  fomented  their  dis- 
contents. 

So  general  was  the  dissatisfaction  of  this  brigade, 
and  with  such  longing  anxiety  did  they  indulge  the 
hope  of  a  speedy  return  to  their  homes,  that  their  im- 
patience did  not  permit  them  to  wait  the  return  of  the 
messenger  from  head-quarters.  Before  an  answer 
could  reach  general  Coffee,  they  had  broken  up  their 
encampment  at  Deposit,  re-crossed  the  river,  and  pro- 
ceeded four  miles  beyond  Huntsville.  On  receiving 
it,  Coffee  had  the  brigade  drawn  up  in  solid  column, 
and  the  letters,  together  with  the  pledge  they  had  giv- 
en, read  to  them ;  after  which  the  reverend  Mr.  Blackr 
burn  endeavoured  in  an  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he 
pointed  out  the  ruinous  consequences  that  were  to  be 
apprehended,  if  they  persisted  in  their  present  purpose, 
to  recall  them  to  a  sense  of  duty,  and  of  honour ;  but 
they  had  formed  their  resolution  too  steadfastly,  and 
had  gone  too  extravagant  lengths,  to  be  influenced  by 
the  letter,  the  pledge,  or  the  speech.  As  to  the  pledge, 


106  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

a  few  said  they  had  not  authorized  it  to  be  made ; 
others,  that  as  the  general  had  not  returned  an  imme- 
diate acceptance,  they  did  not  consider  themselves 
bound  by  it ;  but  the  greater  part  candidly  acknow- 
ledged, that  they  stood  committed,  and  were  without 
any  justification  for  their  present  conduct.  Neverthe- 
less, except  a  few  officers,  and  three  or  four  privates, 
the  whole  persisted  in  the  determination  to  abandon 
the  service.  Thus,  in  a  tumultuous  manner,  they 
abandoned  their  post  and  their  duty,  and,  committing 
innumerable  extravagances,  regardless  alike  of  law 
and  decency,  continued  their  route  to  their  respective 
homes. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Discontents  of  the  militia. — Governor  Blount  recommends  an  abandon* 
ment  of  the  service. — Jackson's  reply  to  his  letter. — The  governor 
takes  measures  for  bringing  out  a  sufficient  force. — Conduct  of  general 
Roberts. -~- His  brigade  retires  from  service. — Lieutenant  Kearley. — 
General  Jackson  endeavours  to  detain  the  East  Tennessee  troops. — 
His  address  to  them. — Arrival  of  additional  forces. — Arrest  of  officers* 
— Expedition  against  the  Indians. — His  motives. — Battle  of  Emuck- 
faia. — General  Coffee  proceeds  to  destroy  the  enemy's  fortifications.—*- 
Second  battle  of  Emuckfaw. — Troops  commence  their  return  marcft.— • 
J^mbus  cade  formed  by  the  Indians. — Battle  of  Enotichopco. 

THE  events  just  portrayed,  satisfactorily  prove,  that 
militia  are  not  only  the  most  expensive  troops  in  war, 
but  such  as  cannot  be  relied  on  beyond  that  period 
where  excitement  and  buoyancy  of  spirit  is  preserved; 
and  even  then,  none  but  the  most  determined  officers 
can  controul  them.  Despondency  overtaking  them, 
their  efficiency  is  destroyed ;  but,  when  mutinous,  they 
are  worse  than  useless. 

But  whilst  these  unfortunate  events  were  transpir- 
ing in  the  rear,  matters  were  far  from  wearing  an  en- 
couraging aspect  at  head-quarters.  The  brigade  of 
West  Tennessee  militia,  at  no  time  full,  and  at  pre- 
sent consisting,  in  consequence  of  numerous  deser- 
tions, of  only  about  six  hundred,  imitating  the  evil 
examples  lately  set  before  it,  began,  as  the  day  on 
which  they  imagined  themselves  entitled  to  a  dis- 
charge was  approaching,  to  turn  their  attention  to- 
wards home.  Believing  that  three  months  constituted 


108  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  tour  of  duty  contemplated  in  the  act  under  which 
their  services  had  been  engaged,  they  insisted  that  it 
would  terminate  on  the  4th  of  the  ensuing  month, 
This,  however,  was  a  construction  that  Jackson  was 
by  no  means  disposed  to  admit.  It  is  true,  the  act  had 
not  defined  the  term  of  their  engagement;  but  it  had 
specified  the  object  of  calling  them  out,  viz.  to  subdue 
the  Indians ;  and  as  that  object  had  not  yet  been  at- 
tained, it  was  believed,  that  at  present,  they  were  not 
entitled  to  a  discharge^  In  addition  to  this,  these 
troops,  although  raised  by  the  state  authorities,  had 
been,  by  the  particular  recommendation  of  the  legis- 
lature, received  into  the  service  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, under  the  act  of  congress  authorizing  the  pre- 
sident to  call  out  a  hundred  thousand  militia,  to  serve 
for  six  months,  unless  by  his  own  order  they  should 
be  previously  dismissed.  So  that,  whether  the  act  of 
congress,  or  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  were  taken 
as  the  governing  rule  in  this  case,  it  was  believed 
there  was  no  authority  competent  to  extend  to  them 
a  discharge,  at  the  time  it  was  threatened  to  be  de- 
manded. The  militia  of  East  Tennessee,  having  been 
specially  mustered  into  service  for  three  months, 
would,  of  course,  be  entitled  to  claim  their  dismissal 
at  the  expiration  of  that  period ;  hence  colonel  Lil- 
liard's  regiment,  which  constituted  more  than  one  half 
the  present  force  at  head-quarters,  would  be  lost  to 
the  service  on  the  14th  of  the  next  month. 

With  the  failure  of  general  Cocke,  to  bring  into  the 
field  the  number  and  description  of  troops  which  he 
had  been  ordered  to  raise  under  the  requisition  of  the 
president,  as  well  as  with  the  temper  and  demands  of 


LXFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  309 

those  who  were  in  service,  Jackson  kept  the  governor 
of  Tennessee  correctly  advised;  and  omitted  no  op- 
portunity of  entreating  him,  in  the  most  pressing  man- 
ner, to  take  the  earliest  measures  for  supplying  by 
draft,  or  voluntary  enlistment,  the  present  deficiency, 
as  well  as  that  which,  from  every  appearance,  was 
soon  to  be  expected  To  these  solicitations,  he  had 
now  received  the  governor's  answer,  who  stated,  that, 
having  given  an  order  to  bring  into  the  field  fifteen 
hundred  of  the  detached  militia,  as  was  required  by 
the  secretary  of  war,  and  a  thousand  volunteers,  under 
the  act  of  the  legislature  of  Tennessee  of  the  24th 
September,  he  did  not  feel  himself  authorized  to  grant 
any  new  mandate,  although  satisfied  that  the  first  had 
not  been  complied  with ;  that  he  viewed  the  further 
prosecution  of  the  campaign,  attended  as  it  was  with 
so  many  embarrassments,  as  a  fruitless  endeavour ;  and 
concluded  by  recommending,  as  advisable,  to  withdraw 
the  troops  into  the  settlements,  and  suspend  all  active 
operations  until  the  general  government  should  pro- 
vide more  effectual  means  for  conducting  it  to  a  fa- 
vourable result  Jackson,  far  from  having  any  intention 
to  yield  to  this  advice,  determined  to  oppose  it  Still, 
however,  he  was  greatly  concerned  at  the  view  the 
chief  magistrate  of  his  state  seemed  to  take  of  a  ques- 
tion of  such  vital  importance ;  and  immediately  pro-* 
ceeded  to  unfold  himself  fully,  and  to  suggest  the 
course,  which,  he  believed,  on  the  present  occasion, 
it  behoved  them  both  to  pursue:  pointing  out  the 
ruinous  consequences  that  might  be  expected  to  result 
from  the  adoption  of  the  measure  he  had  undertaken 
to  recommend; — he  continues: 


1 10  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

"  Had  your  wish,  that  I  should  discharge  a  part  of 
my  force,  and  retire,  with  the  residue,  into  the  settle- 
ments, assumed  the  form  of  a  positive  order,  it  might 
have  furnished  me  some  apology  for  pursuing  such  a 
course;  but  by  no  means  a  full  justification.     As  you 
would  have  no  power  to  give  such  an  order,  I  could 
not  be  inculpable  in  obeying,  with  my  eyes  open  to 
the  fatal  consequences  that  would  attend  it.     But  a 
bare    recommendation,  founded,  as  I  am    satisfied  it 
must  be,  on  the  artful  suggestions  of  those  fire-side 
patriots,  who  seek,  in  a  failure  of  the  expedition,  an 
excuse  for  their  own  supineness ;  and  upon  the  misre- 
presentations of  the  discontented  from  the  army,  who 
wish  it  to  be  believed,  that  the  difficulties  which  over- 
came their  patriotism  are  wholly  insurmountable,  would 
afford  me  but  a  feeble  shield  against  the  reproaches  of 
my  country  or  my  conscience.     Believe  me,  my  re- 
spected friend,  the  remarks  I  make  proceed  from  the 
purest  personal  regard.     If  you  would  preserve  your 
reputation,  or  that  of  the  state  over  which  you  preside, 
you  must  take  a  straight-forward,  determined  course; 
regardless  of  the  applause  or  censure  of  the  populace, 
and  of  the  forebodings  of  that  dastardly  and  designing 
crew,  who,  at  a  time  like  this,  may  be  expected  to 
clamour  continually  in  your  ears.    The  very  wretches 
who  now  beset  you  with  evil  counsel,  will  be  the  first, 
should  the  measures  which  they  recommend  eventuate 
in  disaster,  to  call  down  imprecations  on  your  head, 
and  load  you  with    reproaches.     Your  country  is  in 
danger : — apply  its  resources  to  its  defence  !   Can  any 
course  be  more  plain  ?  Do  you,  my  friend,  at  such  a 
moment  as  the  present,  sit  with  your  arms  folded,  and 
your  heart  at  ease,  waiting  a  solution  of  your  doubts, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  Ill 

and  a  definition  of  your  powers  ?  Do  you  wait  for  spe- 
cial instructions  from  the  secretary  at  war,  which  it  is 
impossible  for  you  to  receive  in  time  for  the  danger 
that  threatens  ?  How  did  the  venerable  Shelby  act, 
under  similar  circumstances ;  or  rather,  under  circum- 
stances by  no  means  so  critical  ?  Did  he  wait  for  or- 
ders to  do  what  every  man  of  sense  knew — what  eve- 
ry patriot  felt — to  be  right  ?  He  did  not ;  and  yet  how 
highly  and  justly  did  the  government  extol  his  manly 
and  energetic  conduct !  and  how  dear  has  his  name  be- 
come to  every  friend  of  his  country ! 

"  You  say,  that  an  order  to  bring  the  necessary 
quota  of  men  into  the  field  has  been  given,  and  that  of 
course  your  power  ceases ;  and,  although  you  are  made 
sensible  that  the  order  has  been  wholly  neglected,  you 
can  take  no  measure  to  remedy  the  omission.  Widely 
different,  indeed,  is  my  opinion.  I  consider  it  your 
imperious  duty,  when  the  men,  called  for  by  your  au- 
thority, founded  upon  that  of  the  government,  are 
known  not  to  be  in  the  field,  to  see  that  they  be  brought 
there  ;  and  to  take  immediate  measures  with  the  officer, 
who,  charged  with  the  execution  of  your  order,  omits 
or  neglects  to  do  it.  As  the  executive  of  the  state,  it 
is  your  duty  to  see  that  the  full  quota  of  troops  be  con- 
stantly kept  in  the  field,  for  the  time  they  have  been 
required.  You  are  responsible  to  the  government; 
your  officer  to  you.  Of  what  avail  is  it,  to  give  an 
order,  if  it  be  never  executed,  and  may  be  disobeyed 
with  impunity  ?  Is  it  by  empty  mandates  that  we  can 
hope  to  conquer  our  enemies,  and  save  our  defenceless 
frontiers  from  butchery  and  devastation  ?  Believe  me, 
my  valued  friend,  there  are  times  when  it  is  highly 


112  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

criminal  to  shrink  from  responsibility,  or  scruple  about 
the  exercise  of  our  powers.  There  are  times  when 
we  must  disregard  punctilious  etiquette,  and  think 
only  of  serving  our  country.  What  is  really  our  pre- 
sent situation  ?  The  enemy  we  have  been  sent  to 
subdue,  may  be  said,  if  we  stop  at  this,  to  be  only  ex- 
asperated. The  commander  in  chief,  general  Pinck- 
ney,  who  supposes  me  by  this  time,  prepared  for  re- 
newed operations,  has  ordered  me  to  advance  and  form 
a  junction  with  the  Georgia  army ;  and,  upon  the  ex- 
pectation that  I  will  do  so,  are  all  his  arrangements 
formed  for  the  prosecution  of  the  campaign.  Will  it 
do  to  defeat  his  plans,  and  jeopardize  the  safety  of  the 
Georgia  army  ?  The  general  government,  too,  believe, 
and  have  a  right  to  believe,  that  we  have  now  not  less 
than  five  thousand  men  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's 
country ;  and  on  this  opinion  are  all  their  calculations 
bottomed ;  and  must  they  all  be  frustrated,  and  I  be- 
come the  instrument  by  which  it  is  done  ?  God  for- 
bid! 

"  You  advise  me  to  discharge  or  dismiss  from  ser- 
vice, until  the  will  of  the  president  can  be  known, 
such  portion  of  the  militia  as  have  rendered  three 
months'  service.  This  advice  astonishes  me,  even  more 
than  the  former.  I  have  no  such  discretionary  power ; 
and  if  I  had,  it  would  be  impolitic  and  ruinous  to  exer- 
cise it.  I  believed,  the  militia  who  were  not  specially 
received  for  a  shorter  period,  were  engaged  for  six 
months,  unless  the  objects  of  the  expedition  should  be 
sooner  attained^  and  in  this  opinion  I  was  greatly 
strengthened  by  your  letter  of  the  15th,  in  which  you 
say,  when  answering  my  inquiry  upon  this  subject, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  113 

"the  militia  are  detached  for  six  months*  service;" 
nor  did  I  know,  or  suppose,  you  had  a  different 
opinion,  until  the  arrival  of  your  last  letter.  This 
opinion  must,  I  suppose,  agreeably  to  your  request,  be 
made  known  to  general  Roberts'  brigade,  and  then 
the  consequences  are  not  difficult  to  be  foreseen. 
Every  man  belonging  to  it  will  abandon  me  on  the 
4th  of  next  month  ;  nor  shall  I  have  the  means  of  pre- 
venting it,  but  by  the  application  of  force,  which,  un- 
der such  circumstances,  I  shall  not  be  at  liberty  to 
use.  I  have  laboured  hard  to  reconcile  these  men  to 
a  continuance  in  service  until  they  could  be  honour- 
ably discharged,  and  had  hoped  I  had,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, succeeded ;  but  your  opinion,  operating  with 
their  own  prejudices,  will  give  a  sanction  to  their  con- 
duct, and  render  useless  any  further  attempts.  They 
will  go  ;  but  I  can  neither  discharge  nor  dismiss  them. 
Shall  I  be  told,  that  as  they  will  go,  it  may  as  well  be 
peaceably  permitted ;  can  that  be  any  good  reason  why 
I  should  do  an  unauthorized  act  ?  Is  it  a  good  reason 
why  I  should  violate  the  order  of  my  superior  officer, 
and  evince  a  willingness  to  defeat  the  purposes  of  my 
government  ?  And  wherein  does  the  "  sound  policy" 
of  the  measures  that  have  been  recommended  consist  ? 
or  in  what  way  are  they  "  likely  to  promote  the  public 
good  ?"  Is  it  sound  policy  to  abandon  a  conquest  thus 
far  made,  and  deliver  up  to  havoc,  or  add  to  the  num- 
ber of  our  enemies,  those  friendly  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees,  who,  relying  on  our  protection,  have  espoused 
our  cause,  and  aided  us  with  their  arms  ?  Is  it  good 
policy  to  turn  loose  upon  our  defenceless  frontiers 
five  thousand  exasperated  savages,  to  reek  their  hands 
once  more  in  the  blood  of  our  citizens  ?  What !  retro- 


114  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

grade  under  such  circumstances!  I  will  perish  first 
No,  I  will  do  my  duty :  I  will  hold  the  posts  I  have 
established,  until  ordered  to  abandon  them  by  the 
commanding  general,  or  die  in  the  struggle  ; — long 
since  have  I  determined  not  to  seek  the  preservation 
of  life  at  the  sacrifice  of  reputation. 

"  But  our  frontiers,  it  seems,  are  to  be  defended, 
and  by  whom  ?  By  the  very  force  that  is  now  recom- 
mended to  be  dismissed  :  for  I  am  first  told  to  retire 
into  the  settlements  and  protect  the  frontiers ;  next, 
to  discharge  my  troops ;  and  then,  that  no  measures 
can  be  taken  for  raising  others.  No,  my  friend,  if 
troops  be  given  me,  it  is  not  by  loitering  on  the  fron- 
tiers that  I  will  seek  to  give  protection ; — they  are  to 
be  defended,  if  defended  at  all,  in  a  very  different  man- 
ner ; — by  carrying  the  war  into  the  heart  of  the  ene- 
my's country,  All  other  hopes  of  defence  are  more 
visionary  than  dreams.  What  then  is  to  be  done  ? 
I'll  tell  you  what.  You  have  only  to  act  with  the  ener- 
gy and  decision  the  crisis  demands,  and  all  will  be 
well.  Send  me  a  force  engaged  for  six  months,  and 
I  will  answer  for  the  result, — but  withhold  it,  and  all 
is  lost, — the  reputation  of  the  state,  and  your's,  and 
mine  along  with  it." 

This  letter  had  considerable  effect  with  the  gover- 
nor. On  receiving  it,  he  immediately  determined  on 
a  course  of  greater  efficienc}r,  and  ordered  from  the 
second  division  twenty-five  hundred  of  the  militia,  for 
a  tour  of  three  months,  to  rendezvous  at  Fayetteville 
on  the  28th  of  Januarj7.  The  command  was  given  to 
brigadier-general  Johnston,  with  orders  to  proceed 


UFE  OF  GENERAL  JACK3OX.  115 

without  delay,  by  detachments,  or  otherwise,  to  Fort 
Strother.  He  instructed  general  Cocke  to  execute 
the  order  he  had  received  from  Jackson,  for  raising 
from  his  division  his  required  quota  of  troops,  and  to 
bring  them  to  the  field  as  early  as  possible. 

These  measures  were  taken  by  the  governor  in  op- 
position to  his  first  views  of  their  impropriety — with- 
out any  special  directions  from  the  government.  If  any 
doubts,  however,  remained  of  the  correctness  of  the 
course  adopted,  they  were  soon  after  dispelled  by  a 
letter  from  the  secretary  of  war,  stating  that  he  was 
"  authorized  to  supply,  by  militia  drafts  or  volunteers, 
any  deficiency  that  might  arise,  and  without  referring 
on  that  head  to  the  department  of  war." 

General  Roberts,  who  had  been  ordered  back  to 
supply  the  deficiencies  in  his  brigade,  returned  on  the 
27th  with  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  men,  mustered 
for  three  months.  Having  halted  them  a  few  miles  in 
rear  of  the  camp,  he  proceeded  thither  himself,  to  learn 
of  the  commanding  general,  whether  the  troops  he  had 
brought  on  would  be  received  for  the  term  they  had 
stipulated,  inasmuch  as  they  were  unwilling  to  advance 
further  until  this  point  was  settled.  Jackson  answer- 
ed, that  although  he  greatly  preferred  they  should  be 
engaged  for  six  months,  or  during  the  campaign,  yet 
he  had  no  wish  to  alter  any  engagement  made  with 
general  Roberts,  and  would  gladly  receive  them  for 
the  period  they  had  been  mustered ;  at  the  expiration 
of  which  time  he  would  discharge  them.  Notwith- 
standing this  assurance,  with  which  he  was  instructed 
to  make  them  fully  acquainted,  for  some  unknown 


116  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

cause,  they  suddenly  formed  the  determination  to  aban- 
don their  engagements  and  return  home,  without  gain- 
ing even  a  sight  of  the  camp.     To  the  misconduct  of 
their  general,  was  it  justly  to  be  attributed.     By  halt- 
ing them  in  the  neighbourhood,  until  he  could  go  to 
head-quarters  and  "  make  terms"  for  their  acceptance, 
he  had  impressed  them  with  the  belief  that  their  ob- 
ligations as  yet  extended  only  to  himself;  from  which 
he  promised  to  absolve  them,  if  the  terms  he  should 
be  able  to  make,  should  be  less  favourable  than  they 
expected.     And  even  after  general  Jackson  had  assent- 
ed to  all  that  was  or  could  be  asked  in  their  behalf, 
and  that  assent  had  been  reduced  to  writing,  Roberts, 
either  from  not  understanding  what  was  done,  or  from 
a   desire  to  injure  the  service,  hastened  back  to  his 
men, — informed  them  that  he  had  been  unable  to  effect 
an  accomplishment  of  their  object — seriously  lamented 
having  induced  them  from  their  homes,  and  concluded 
by  gravely  remarking,  that  he  freely  exonerated  them 
from  all  the  obligations  they  were  under  to  him.  They, 
just  as  gravely  concluded  they  would  go  no  further ; 
and,  turning   about,  commenced  their  return  home. 
The  affair,  however,  was  soon  presented  very  differ- 
ently to  his   mind.     The   careless   indifference  with 
which  he  had  first  treated  it  had  subsided ;  and  his  fears 
took  the  alarm  on  receiving  from  general  Jackson,  an 
order  to  parade  immediately  before  the  fort  the  men 
he  had  reported  to  have  brought  into  the  field.     He 
came  forward,  now,  to  excuse  what  had  happened,  and 
to  solicit  permission  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  refugees, 
whom  he  thought  he  should  be  able  to  bring  back. 
Overtaking  them,  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles,  he 
endeavoured,  in  a  very  gentle  manner,  to  sooth  their 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  117 

discontents,  and  prevail  on  them  to  return ;  but  having 
been  discharged,  and  absolved  fully  from  the  engage- 
ments they  had  at  first  entered  into,  they  laughed  at 
the  folly  of  his  errand.  Unable  to  effect  his  object, 
he  remained  with  them  during  the  night ;  and  in  the 
morning  set  out  for  camp,  and  his  new  recruits  for 
home.  On  arriving  at  head-quarters,  he  ascribed  his 
failure  to  the  practice^4if  certain  officers,  whom  he 
named,  and  who,  he  said,  had  stirred  up  a  spirit  of  mu- 
tiny and  desertion  among  the  men  to  such  a  degree, 
that  all  his  efforts  to  retain  them  had  proved  unavail- 
ing. Jackson,  who  could  not  view  this  incident  with 
the  same  carelessness  and  indifference  that  Roberts 
did,  immediately  issued  an  order,  directing  him  to 
proceed,  forthwith,  in  pursuit  of  the  deserters,  and 
have  them  apprehended  and  brought  back.  In  the 
execution  of  this  order,  he  was  commanded  to  call  to 
his  aid  any  troops  in  the  United  States'  service  within 
the  county  of  Madison,  or  in  the  state  of  Tennessee, 
and  to  exert  all  his  power  and  authority,  as  a  military 
officer,  within  his  own  brigade  ;  and  in  the  event  he 
should  not  be  able  to  collect  a  sufficient  force  to  march 
them  safely  to  head-quarters,  to  confine  them  in  jails, 
and  make  a  report  thereof,  without  delay.  This  order 
was  accompanied  with  an  assurance,  that  all  who  should 
return  willingly  to  their  duty,  except  those  officers 
who  had  been  reported  as  the  instigators,  would  be 
pardoned.  Many  of  the  men  and  several  of  the  offi- 
cers, who  had  been  charged  as  encouraging  the  revolt, 
learning  the  nature  of  the  proceedings  which  were 
about  to  be  enforced  against  them,  returned  of  their 
own  accord  to  camp ;  and  concurred  in  ascribing  their 
late  misconduct  entirely  to  their  general.  He  was  af- 


118  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

terwards  arrested,  and  upon  this  and  other  charges 
exhibited  against  him,  sentenced  by  a  court-martial  to 
be  cashiered. 

The  day  had  arrived,  when  that  portion  of  the  mili- 
tia, which  had  continued  in  service,  claimed  to  be  dis- 
charged ;  and  insisted,  that  whether  this  were  given 
to  them  or  not,  they  would  abandon  the  campaign  and 
return  home.  Jackson  believed  them  not  entitled  to 
/it,  and  hence,  that  he  had  no  right  to  give  it ;  but  since 
governor  Blount  had  said  differently,  and  his  opinion, 
as  was  requested,  had  been  promulgated,  he  felt  it  to 
be  improper  that  he  should  attempt  the  exercise  of 
authority  to  detain  them.  Nevertheless,  believing  it 
to  be  his  duty  to  keep  them,  he  issued  a  general  or- 
der, commanding  all  persons  in  the  service  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  under  his  command,  not  to  leave  the  en- 
campment without  his  written  permission,  under  the 
penalties  annexed,  by  the  rules  and  articles  of  war,  to 
the  crime  of  desertion.  This  was  accompanied  by  an 
address,  in  which  they  were  exhorted,  by  all  those 
motives  which  he  supposed  would  be  most  likely  to 
have  any  influence,  to  remain  at  their  posts  until  they 
could  be  legally  discharged.  Neither  the  order  nor 
the  address  availed  any  thing.  On  the  morning  of  the 
4th  of  January,  the  officer  of  the  day  reported,  that 
on  visiting  his  guard,  half  after  ten  o'clock,  he  found 
neither  the  officer,  (lieutenant  Kearley,)  nor  any  of  the 
sentinels  at  their  posts.  Upon  this  information,  gene- 
ral Jackson  ordered  the  arrest  of  Kearley,  who  refused 
to  surrender  his  sword,  alleging  it  should  protect  him 
to  Tennessee ;  that  he  was  a  freeman,  and  not  subject 
to  the  orders  of  general  Jackson,  or  any  body  else. 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  1 19 

This  being  made  known  to  the  general,  he  issued,  im- 
mediately, this  order  to  the  adjutant-general :  "  You 
will  forthwith  cause  the  guards  to  parade,  with  cap- 
tain Gordon's  company  of  spies,  and  arrest  lieutenant 
Kearley ;  and,  in  case  you  shall  be  resisted  in  the  exe- 
cution of  this  order,  you  are  commanded  to  oppose 
force  to  force,  and  arrest  him  at  all  hazards.  Spare 
the  effusion  of  blood,  if  possible ;  but  mutiny  must,  and 
shall  be  put  down."  Colonel  Sitler,  with  the  guards 
and  Gordon's  company,  immediately  proceeded  in 
search,  and  found  him  at  the  head  of  his  company,  on 
the  lines,  which  were  formed,  and  about  to  be  march- 
ed off.  He  was  ordered  to  halt,  but  refused.  The 
adjutant-general,  finding  it  necessary,  directed  the 
guards  to  stop  him ;  and  again  demanded  his  sword, 
which  he  again  refused  to  deliver.  The  guards  were 
commanded  to  fire  on  him  if  he  did  not  immediately 
deliver  it,  and  had  already  cocked  their  guns.  At  this 
order,  the  lieutenant  cocked  his,  and  his  men  followed 
the  example.  General  Jackson,  informed  of  what  was 
passing,  had  hastened  to  the  scene,  and  arriving  at  this 
moment,  personally  demanded  of  Kearley  his  sword, 
which  he  still  obstinately  refused  to  deliver.  Incensed 
at  his  conduct,  and  viewing  the  example  as  too  dan- 
gerous to  be  passed  in  silence,  he  snatched  a  pistol 
from  his  holster,  and  was  already  levelling  it  at  the 
breast  of  Kearley,  when  the  adjutant-general  interpos- 
ing between  them,  urged  him  to  surrender  his  sword. 
At  this  moment,  a  friend  of  the  lieutenant,  who  was 
present,  drew  it  from  the  scabbard,  and  presented  it 
to  colonel  Sitler,  who  refused  to  receive  it.  It  was 
then  returned  to  Kearley,  wiio  now  delivered  it,  and 
was  placed  under  guard.  During  this  crisis,  both 


120  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

parties  remained  with  their  arms  ready,  and  prepared 
for  firing;  and  a  scene  of  bloodshed  was  narrowly 
escaped. 

Kearley  being  confined,  and  placed  under  guard,  be- 
came exceedingly  penitent,  and  earnestly  supplicated 
the/general  for  a  pardon.  He  stated  that  the  absence 
of  the  guards  and  sentinels  from  their  post  had  been 
owing  to  the  recommendation  and  advice  of  the  bri- 
gade-major ;  that  his  not  delivering  his  sword,  when 
it  was  first  demanded,  was  attributable  to  the  influence 
and  arguments  of  others,  who  had  persuaded  him  it 
was  not  his  duty  to  do  so ;  that  he  had  afterwards 
come  to  the  determination  to  surrender  himself,  but 
was  dissuaded  by  those  who  assured  him  it  would  be 
a  sacrifice  of  character,  and  that  they  would  share  in 
his  disobedience  and  protect  him  in  the  hour  of  dan- 
ger; why  he  still  resisted,  in  the  presence  of  the  ge- 
neral, was,  that  being  at  the  head  of  his  company,  and 
having  undertaken  to  carry  them  home,  he  was  re- 
strained, at  the  moment,  by  a  false  idea  of  honour. 
This  application  was  aided  by  certificates  of  several  of 
the  most  respectable  officers  then  in  camp,  attesting 
his  previously  uniform  good  behaviour,  and  express- 
ing a  belief  that  his  late  misconduct  was  wholly  to  be 
attributed  to  the  interference  of  others.  Influenced 
by  these  reasons,  but  particularly  by  an  apprehension 
of  the  seductions  which  he  believed  had  been  practised 
upon  him,  by  older  and  more  experienced  officers  in 
his  regiment,  the  general  thought  proper  to  order  his 
liberation  from  arrest,  and  his  sword  to  be  restored  to 
him.  Never  was  a  man  more  sensible  of  the  favour 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  121 

he  had  received,  or  more  devoted  to  his  benefactor, 
than  he  afterwards  became. 

While  these  proceedings  were  taking  place,  the 
rest  of  the  brigade,  with  the  exception  of  captain 
Willis's  company,  and  twenty-nine  of  his  men,  con- 
tinued their  march  towards  home,  leaving  behind,  for 
the  further  prosecution  of  the  campaign,  and  the  de- 
fence of  Fort  Strother,  a  single  regiment  of  militia, 
whose  term  of  service  was  within  a  few  weeks  of  ex- 
piring ;  two  small  companies  of  spies,  and  one  of  ar- 
tillery. As  this  regiment  had  often  professed  a  desire 
to  be  led  against  the  enemy,  and  to  contend  in  battle, 
before  they  quitted  the  service,  Jackson  flattered  him- 
self with  the  hope,  that  they  would,  for  this  purpose, 
willingly  remain  in  the  field  a  few  days  beyond  the 
period  of  their  engagements.  On  the  next  day,  there- 
fore, with  a  view  to  test  their  patriotism  and  to  detain 
them  if  possible,  he  caused  to  be  read  to  that  regi- 
ment the  following  address. 

"  Your  general  having  reported  that  your  term  of 
service  will  expire  on  the  14th,  I  assume  no  claim  on 
you  beyond  that  period.  But,  although  I  cannot  de- 
mand as  a  right,  the  continuance  of  your  services,  I  do 
not  despair  of  being  able  to  obtain  them  through  your 
patriotism.  For  what  purpose  was  it  that  you  quitted 
your  homes,  and  penetrated  the  heart  of  the  enemy's 
country  ?  Was  it  to  avenge  the  blood  of  your  fellow- 
citizens,  inhumanly  slain  by  that  enemy; — to  give  se- 
curity in  future  to  our  extended  and  unprotected 
frontier,  and  to  signalize  the  valour  by  which  you  were 
animated?  Will  any  of  these  objects  be  attained  if  you 


122  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

abandon  the  campaign  at  the  time  you  contemplate  ? 
Not  one  !  Yet  an  opportunity  shall  be  afforded  you,  if 
you  desire  it.  If  you  have  been  really  actuated  by  the 
feelings,  and  governed  by  the  motives,  which,  your 
commanding  general  supposes  influenced  you  to  take 
up  arms,  and  enter  the  field  in  defence  of  your  rights, 
none  of  you  will  resist  the  appeal  he  now  makes,  or 
hesitate  to  embrace  with  eagerness,  the  opportunity 
he  is  about  to  afford  you. 

"  The  enemy,  more  than  half  conquered,  yet  deriv- 
ing encouragement  and  hope  from  the  tardiness  of  our 
operations,  and  the  distractions  which  have  unhappily 
prevailed  in  our  camp,  are  again  assembling  below  us. 
Another  lesson  of  admonition  must  be  furnished  them. 
They  must  again  be  made  to  feel  the  weight  of  that 
power  which  they  have,  without  cause,  provoked  to 
war ;  and  to  know,  that  although  we  have  been  slow 
to  take  up  arms,  we  will  never  lay  them  from  our 
hands  until  we  have  secured  the  objects  that  impelled 
us  to  the  resort.  In  less  than  eight  days  I  shall 
leave  this  encampment  to  meet  and  fight  them.  Will 
any  of  you  accompany  me  ?  Are  there  any  amongst 
you,  who,  at  a  moment  like  this,  will  not  think  it  an* 
outrage  upon  honour,  for  her  feelings  to  be  tested  by 
a  computation  of  time?  What  if  the  period  for  which 
you  tendered  your  services  to  your  country  has  ex- 
pired— is'that  a  consideration  with  the  valiant,  the  pa- 
triotic, and  the  brave,  who  have  appeared  to  redress 
the  injured  rights  of  that  country,  and  to  acquire  for 
themselves  the  name  of  glory  ?  Is  it  a  consideration 
with  them,  when  those  objects  are  still  uriattained, 
and  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  them  is  so  near  at 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  123 

hand  ?  Did  such  men  enter  the  field  like  hirelings — 
to  serve  for  pay  ?  Does  all  regard  for  their  country, 
their  families,  and  themselves,  expire  with  the  time  for 
which  their  services  were  engageol?  Will  it  be  a  suffi- 
cient gratification  to  their  feelings,  that  they  served  out 
three  months,  without  seeing  the  enemy,  and  then  aban- 
doned the  campaign,  when  the  enemy  was  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  could  be  seen  and  conquered  in  ten  days  ? 
Any  retrospect  they  can  make,  of  the  sacrifices  they 
have  encountered,  and  the  privations  they  have  endured, 
will  afford  but  little  satisfaction  under  such  circumstan- 
ces ; — the  very  mention  of  the  Creek  war,  must  cover 
them  with  the  blushes  of  shame,  and  self-abasement. 
Having  engaged  for  only  three  months,  and  that  pe- 
riod having  expired,  you  are  not  bound  to  serve  any 
longer  : — but  are  you  bound  by  nothing  else  ?  Sure- 
ly, as  honourable  and  high-minded  men,  you  must,  at 
such  a  moment  as  the  present,  feel  other  obligations 
than  the  law  imposes.  A  fear  of  the  punishment  of 
the  law,  did  not  bring  you  into  camp; — that  its  de- 
mands are  satisfied,  will  not  take  you  from  it.  You 
had  higher  objects  in  view, — some  greater  good  to  at- 
tain. This,  your  general  believes, — nor  can  he  believe 
otherwise,  without  doing  you  great  injustice. 

"  Your  services  are  not  asked  for  longer  than  twen- 
ty days ;  and  who  will  hesitate  making  such  a  sacri- 
fice, when  the  good  of  his  country  and  his  own  fame 
are  at  stake  ?  Who,  under  the  present  aspect  of  affairs, 
will  even  reckon  it  a  sacrifice  ?  When  we  set  out  to 
meet  the  enemy,  this  post  must  be  retained  and  de- 
fended ;  if  any  of  you  will  remain,  and  render  this  ser- 
vice, it  will  be  no  less  important  than  if  you  had  march- 


124  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

ed  to  the  battle ;  nor  will  your  general  less  thankfully 
acknowledge  it.  Tuesday  next,  the  line  of  march  will 
be  taken  up :  and  in  a  few  days  thereafter,  the  objects 
of  the  excursion  will  be  effected.  As  patriotic  men, 
then,  I  ask  you  for  your  services ;  and,  thus  long,  I 
have  no  doubt  you  will  cheerfully  render  them.  I  am 
well  aware,  that  you  are  all  anxious  to  return  to  your 
families  and  homes,  and  that  you  are  entitled  to  do  so ; 
yet  stay  a  little  longer, — go  with  me,  and  meet  the 
enemy,  and  you  can  then  return,  not  only  with  the 
consciousness  of  having  performed  your  duty,  but  with 
the  glorious  exultation  of  having  done  even  more  than 
duty  required." 

What  was  hoped  for,  from  this  address,  did  not  re- 
sult. Difficulties  were  constantly  pressing ;  and  whilst 
one  moment  gave  birth  to  expectation,  the  next  served 
but  to  destroy  it.  Jackson  had  been  advised,  and  was 
buoyed  by  the  hope,  that  adequate  numbers  would 
shortly  come  to  his  relief;  and  until  this  could  be  ac- 
complished, it  was  desirable  to  retain  those  who  then 
were  with  him,  to  give  to  his  posts  increased  protec- 
tion. Whilst  measures  were  adopting  in  Tennessee, 
to  effect  this  fully,  about  a  thousand  volunteers  were 
moving  out,  to  preserve  an  appearance  of  opposition, 
and  keep  secure  what  had  been  already  gained.  With 
this  force,  added  to  what  he  already  had,  if  in  his 
power  to  keep  them,  he  believed  he  would  be  able  to 
advance  on  the  enemy,  make  a  diversion  in  favour  of 
the  Georgia  army,  and  obtain  other  important  advan- 
tages. With  this  view,  he  had  addressed  this  regi- 
ment, and  brought  before  them  such  considerations 
as  might  be  supposed  calculated  to  excite  a  soldier's 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  125 

ardour.  But,  in  answer  to  his  address,  the  command- 
ing officer  replied,  that  having  called  upon  the  several 
captains  in  his  regiment,  to  make  a  statement  of  those 
in  their  respective  companies  who  were  willing  to  re- 
main beyond  the  period  of  their  engagement,  it  ap- 
peared that  with  the  exception  of  captain  Hamilton 
and  three  of  his  men,  none  would  consent  to  do  so. 

As  nothing  but  an  unnecessary  consumption  of  sup- 
plies was  now  to  be  expected  from  detaining  the  few 
days  that  yet  remained  of  their  term,  troops  so  spiritless, 
orders  were  given,  and  proper  arrangements  made,  for 
taking  up  the  line  of  march  to  Fort  Armstrong,  on  the 
10th ;  whence  they  were  directed  to  proceed  to  Knox- 
ville,  and  receive  orders  for  their  discharge.  Particular 
instructions  were  given  to  have  the  strictest  police 
observed,  and  the  utmost  order  preserved  on  the 
march,  that  no  depredations  might  be  committed  on 
the  persons  or  property  of  the  Indians,  through  whose 
country  they  were  to  pass;  or  on  the  citizens  of  Ten- 
nessee. 

Meantime,  the  volunteers,  lately  raised,  had  arrived 
at  Huntsville,  where  they  had  been  directed  to  remain 
until  sufficient  supplies  could  be  had  at  head-quarters. 
Could  they  have  proceeded  directly  on,  they  would 
have  reached  the  general  sufficiently  early  to  have 
enabled  him  to  proceed  against  the  enemy  before  the 
period  at  which  the  remnant  of  his  troops  would  have 
been  entitled  to  a  discharge.  His  exertions  to  have 
in  readiness  the  arrangements  necessary  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  end,  had  been  indefatigable.  Ge- 
neral Cocke  had  been  directed  to  give  instructions  to 


126  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

his  quarter-master,  to  forward  to  Fort  S troth  er  such 
provisions  as  should  arrive  at  Fort  Armstrong;  to 
proceed  thence  to  Ross',  and  make  proper  arrange- 
ments for  the  speedy  transportation,  from  that  place 
to  Deposit,  of  all  the  bread  stuff  which  the  contractor 
had  been  required  to  collect  at  that  depot ;  and  to  have 
procured  and  sent  from  East  Tennessee,  a  competent 
supply  of  that  article,  as  well  for  the  troops  then  in 
the  field,  as  for  those  which  had  been  ordered  to  be 
raised.  The  more  certainly  to  effect  this  object,  he 
had,  on  the  20th  of  December,  despatched  his  own 
quarter-master  and  adjutant-general  to  Deposit  and 
Huntsville,  to  push  on  what  should  be  collected  and 
on  hand  at  those  places ;  and  had,  at  the  same  time, 
despatched  one  of  the  sub-contractors  from  camp,  with 
directions  to  examine  the  situation  of  the  different 
depots ;  and,  if  found  insufficient  to  meet  the  requisi- 
tion he  had  made,  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  set- 
tlements in  Tennessee,  and  procure  the  necessary 
supplies.  To  the  contractors  themselves,  he  had  ad- 
dressed orders  and  exhortations  almost  without  num- 
ber; and,  indeed,  from  every  source,  and  through 
every  channel  that  the  hope  of  relief  could  be  discern- 
ed, had  he  directed  his  exertions  to  obtain  it. 

Having  thus  strained  every  nerve,  and  unceasingly 
directed  all  his  efforts  towards  the  accomplishment  of 
this  object,  he  had,  for  a  while,  flattered  himself  with 
the  hope  that  his  multiplied  endeavours  would  enable 
him  to  bring  on  his  new  troops  in  time  for  that  com- 
bined movement  with  the  East  Tennessee  militia 
which  he  so  much  desired.  So  important  did  he  con- 
sider this  measure,  that  he  was  willing  to  subject  him- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  127 

self  to  considerable  hazard,  rather  than  not  effect  it 
To  colonel  Carroll  he  wrote,  on  learning  that  he  was 
on  his  way  with  the  newly  raised  troops — "  I  am  happy 
to  hear  of  your  success  in  procuring  volunteers.  I  shall 
receive,  with  open  arms,  those  who,  in  this  hour  of 
need,  so  gallantly  come  forth  to  uphold  the  sinking 
reputation  of  their  state.  I  am  exceedingly  anxious 
to  re-commence  operations,  and  indeed  they  have 
become  more  necessary  than  ever;  yet  I  cannot  move 
without  supplies.  As  this  will  meet  you  near  where 
the  contractors  are,  you  will  be  better  able  to  ascertain 
than  I  can  inform  you,  when  that  happy  moment  will 
arrive :  and  I  pray  you,  use  your  best  exertions  to 
have  it  brought  about  with  the  least  possible  delay. 
Until  supplies,  and  the  means  of  transportation  can 
be  furnished,  to  justify  another  movement  from  this 
place,  it  will  be  better  that  you  remain  where  your 
horses  can  be  fed.  I  say  this,  upon  the  supposi- 
tion and  hope,  that  it  may  shortly  be  effected ;  but 
were  it  certain  that  the  same  causes  of  delay  which 
have  so  long  retarded  our  operations,  were  still  to 
continue,  I  would,  at  every  risk,  and  under  every  re- 
sponsibility, take  up  the  march  so  soon  as  the  troops 
now  with  you  could  arrive.  For  such  a  measure,  I 
should  seek  my  justification  in  the  imperiousness  of 
the  circumstances  by  which  I  am  surrounded;  and 
rely  for  success  upon  heaven,  and  the  enterprise  of 
my  followers. 

"  Partial  supplies  have  arrived,  for  my  use,  at  Fort 
Armstrong,  which  will  be  ordered  on  to-morrow.  This, 
with  the  scanty  stock  on  hand,  will  at  least  keep  us 
from  starving  a  few  weeks,  until  we  can  quarter  upon 


128  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  enemy,  or  gain  assistance  from  the  country  below. 
General  Claiborne,  who  is  encamped  eight}^fi  ve  miles 
above  Fort  Stoddart,  writes  me,  that  arrangements  are 
made  to  send  supplies  up  the  Alabama,  to  the  junction 
of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa.  Upon  such  resources 
will  I  depend,  sooner  than  wait  until  my  army  wastes 
away,  or  through  inaction  becomes  mutinous  and  unfit 
for  service. 

The  hopes,  however,  which  had  been  cherished,  of 
combined  operations,  with  all  the  forces  at  that  time 
under  his  controul,  he  was  compelled,  by  the  late 
events  in  his  camp,  to  relinquish ;  but  although  these 
were  highly  discouraging,  they  were  far  from  inducing 
him  to  despond.  He  was  strongly  persuaded  of  the 
necessity  of  proceeding;  and  determined,  that  as  soon 
as  it  were  possible,  he  would  prosecute  the  campaign 
with  the  feeble  force  he  had  at  his  command,  deferring 
the  period  for  more  active  operations,  until  the  ex- 
pected reinforcements,  collecting  in  Tennessee,  could 
be  brought  into  the  field.* 

*  The  troops  thus  collecting  were  calculated  but  for  a  single  ad- 
venture, and  no  more.  Colonel  Carroll  had  not  been  able  to  pro- 
cure volunteers  for  six  months,  or  during  the  campaign,  as  was 
required  by  the  order  under  which  he  acted.  He  had  considered  it 
under  all  the  circumstances,  so  essential  to  have  troops  of  some  de- 
scription engaged,  that,  rather  than  encounter  disappointment,  he 
had  accepted  them  for  sixty  days,  and  taken  them  as  mounted  men, 
instead  of  infantry,  which  were  not  to  be  procured.  This  latter  cir- 
cumstance, requiring  a  large  quantity  of  supplies,  occasioned  them  to 
be  kept  back  longer  than  would  have  been  necessary,  had  they  been 
troops  of  a  different  description.  As  there  was  no  law,  either  of  the 
state  or  general  government,  for  a  period  so  limited,  and  which 
seemed  too  short  to  promise  any  very  beneficial  effects,  the  general 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  129 

On  the  second  of  January,  colonel  Carroll  and  Mr. 
Blackburn,  having  proceeded  from  Huntsville,  arrived 
at  head-quarters,  to  receive  instructions  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  volunteers  should  be  organized; 
and  to  learn  the  time  when  they  would  be  required  to 
be  brought  up.  Having  reported  their  strength  to  be 
eight  hundred  and  fifty,  they  were  directed  to  have 
them  formed,  as  had  been  desired,  into  two  regiments, 
under  officers  of  their  own  choice ;  and  an  order  was 
put  into  their  hands,  requiring  general  Coffee,  who  was 
then  at  Huntsville,  to  march  them  to  Fort  Strother, 
by  the  10th  instant.  That  officer,  whose  feelings  had 
been  sufficiently  harrowed  by  the  late  conduct  and 
defection  of  his  brigade,  learning  that  those  troops 
were  unwilling  for  him  to  have  command  of  them,  had 
expressed  a  wish  to  general  Jackson  that  it  might  not 
be  assigned  him ;  in  consequence  of  which,  and  their 
own  request,  the  latter  had  determined,  after  their  ar- 
rival at  his  camp,  that  there  should  be  no  intermedi- 
ate commander  over  them,  between  their  colonels  and 
himself.  With  this  proposed  arrangement,  and  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  order  borne  to  general  Coffee, 
those  gentlemen  had  been  instructed  to  make  the 
troops  acquainted ;  and  were  particularly  requested  to 

was  in  doubt  whether  or  not  to  receive  them;  but,  believing  he 
might  make  a  partial  excursion,  and  thereby  produce  a  diversion 
favourable  to  the  Georgia  troops,  who,  relying  on  his  co-operation, 
might  be  perhaps  greatly  endangered  without  h ;  and  considering 
that  their  rejection  might  tend  to  the  injury  of  the  campaign,  he 
finally  concluded  to  accept  them.  Previously  to  doing  so,  he  stated 
his  objections,  and  the  difficulties  he  felt ;  and  endeavoured  to  pre- 
vail on  them  to  enlarge  their  term  of  service :  to  this  they  would  not 
agree ;  when,  rather  than  lose  them  entirely,  he  consented  to  re- 
eaive  them. 


130  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

use  their  best  endeavours  to  remove  any  erroneous 
impressions  that  might  have  been  made  upon  their 
minds  by  those  who  had  so  lately  abandoned  their 
duty,  and  who  had  laboured  to  instil  in  others  their 
own  prejudices  and  passions.  They  were  charged, 
too,  with  the  communication  of  a  flattering  address 
from  the  general,  who,  warned  by  past  transactions, 
considered  it  of  the  utmost  importance  to  prevent  any 
mutinous  feeling,  and  to  guard,  by  all  the  means  in  his 
powrer,  against  the  contamination  of  a  corps  upon 
which  his  only  hopes  at  present  rested. 

General  Coffee,  having  received  the  instructions 
which  general  Jackson  had  sent  him,  immediately  gave 
orders  to  colonels  Perkins  and  Higgins,  who  had  been 
chosen  to  the  command  of  the  two  regiments,  to  march 
them  directly  for  head-quarters ;  explaining,  in  his  or- 
der, the  reasons  that  had  induced  him  to  issue  it.  To 
his  entire  astonishment,  both  these  officers  refused  to 
obey  it ;  alleging,  in  a  written  statement  they  made, 
that  general  Coffee  had  no  right  to  exercise  command 
over  them,  and  that  they  would  disregard  any  he 
might  attempt  to  claim.  One  of  them  not  only  refused 
obedience  to  the  order,  but  even  went  so  far  as  to  re- 
fuse to  return  it,  or  permit  the  brigade-inspector  to 
take  a  copy ;  thereby  placing  it  out  of  his  power  to 
make  it  known  to  the  rest  of  the  brigade. 

Unwilling  as  Coffee  was,  to  create  any  additional 
perplexities  to  the  commanding  general,  or  occasion 
new  disturbances,  at  so  important  a  crisis,  neverthe- 
less, influenced  by  a  regard  for  his  own  reputation, 
which  he  believed  to  be  wantonly  and  wickedly  a$- 


LITE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX,  131 

sailed,  by  this  contumacious  refusal  to  obey  an  order 
which  the  occasion  and  his  instructions  required  him 
to  execute,  he  felt  himself  constrained  to  demand  the 
arrest  of  those  officers. 

This  application,  with  charges  and  specifications  of 
so  serious  a  nature,  against  his  officers  highest  in  com- 
mand, placed  Jackson  in  a  very  delicate  situation.  To 
commence  the  exercise  of  authority  over  troops  wholly 
unacquainted  with  service,  by  the  arrest  of  those  in 
whom  they  had  reposed  such  distinguished  confidence, 
it  was  probable  might  be  attended  with  consequences 
fatal  to  his  views,  and  to  the  success  of  the  contempla- 
ted expedition.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  fully  sen- 
sible of  the  injury  that  had  been  done  the  feelings  of 
an  officer,  acting  under  the  authority  of  his  instruc- 
tions, and  how  much,  justice  required  them  to  be  re- 
paired :  nor  was  he  less  sensible  of  the  feeble  reliance 
that  could  be  reposed  on  men  who  seemed  to  make  a 
merit  of  disobedience  and  insubordination,  especially 
if,  from  indulgence,  they  should  be  permitted  to  de- 
rive encouragement.  But  however  his  mind  might 
oscillate  between  the  evil  consequences  of  either  al- 
ternative, he  knew  that  the  course  pointed  out  by  duty 
was  a  plain  one,  should  general  Coffee  persist  in  his 
demand. 

Notwithstanding  the  strong  injunctions  and  weighty 
considerations  that  had  been  urged,  to  produce  an  ex- 
peditious movement,  it  was  not  until  the  13th  that 
those  officers  with  their  regiments  reached  head-quar- 
ters. Finding,  on  their  arrival,  that  they  were  likely 
to,  be  noticed,  on  charges  which  their  better-informed 


132  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

friends  advised  would  not  only  deprive  them  of  com- 
mand, but  involve  them  in  disgrace,  they  immediately 
came  forward,  and  made  an  honourable  and  satisfacto- 
ry concession,  in  which  they  pleaded  ignorance  of  mi- 
litary duty,  as  an  excuse  for  their  misconduct.  That 
the  service,  at  a  crisis  so  important,  might  not  be  in- 
jured by  any  private  feuds,  the  charges  were  with- 
drawn. 

Every  preparation  was  now  made  to  hasten  an  ac- 
complishment of  the  objects  in  view.  The  whole  ef- 
fective force  consisted,  at  this  time,  by  the  reports,  of 
little  more  than  nine  hundred  men,  and  was,  in  reality, 
below  that  number. 

Being  addressed  by  the  general,  on  the  occasion, 
on  the  15th,  the  mounted  troops  commenced  their 
march,  and  moved  to  Wehogee  creek,  three  miles  from 
the  fort.  Jackson,  with  his  staff,  and  the  artillery  com- 
pany, joined  them  next  morning,  at  that  place,  and 
continued  the  line  of  march  to  Talladega,  where  about 
two  hundred  friendly  Indians,  Cherokees  and  Creeks, 
badly  armed,  and  much  discouraged  at  the  weakness 
of  his  force,  were  added  to  his  numbers,  without  in- 
creasing much  his  strength.  Seldom,  perhaps,  has 
there  been  an  expedition  undertaken,  fraught  with 
greater  peril  than  this.  Nine  hundred  new  recruits, 
entirely  unacquainted  with  the  duties  of  the  field, 
were  to  be  marched  into  the  heart  of  an  enemy's  coun- 
try, without  a  single  hope  of  escape,  but  from  victory, 
and  that  victory  not  to  be  expected,  but  from  the 
wisest  precaution,  and  most  determined  bravery.  Al- 
though so  obviously  pregnant  with  danger,  to  marcji 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  133 

was  the  only  alternative  that  could  be  prudently  adopt- 
ed. No  other  could  afford  a  diversion  favourable  to 
general  Floyd,  who  was  advancing  with  the  army 
from  Georgia,  or  give  favourable  results  to  the  cam- 
paign, without  which  it  must  soon  have  been  abandon- 
ed, for  want  of  men  to  prosecute  it  Another  reason 
rendered  such  a  movement  proper,  and  indispensable. 
The  officer  commanding  at  Fort  Armstrong  had  re- 
ceived intelligence,  on  which  was  placed  the  utmost 
reliance,  that  the  warriors  from  fourteen  or  fifteen 
towns  on  the  Tallapoosa,  were  about  to  unite  their 
forces,  and  attack  that  place ;  which,  for  the  want  of  a 
sufficient  garrison,  was  in  a  weak  and  defenceless  situ- 
ation. Of  this,  general  Jackson  had  been  advised.  The 
present  movement  then,  hazardous  as  it  was,  under  all 
circumstances,  was  indispensable,  and  could  alone  pre- 
vent the  execution  of  such  a  purpose,  if  it  were  in  truth 
intended.  On  reaching  Talladega,  he  received  a  letter 
from  the  commandant  at  Fort  Armstrong,  confirmatory 
of  the  first  information  that  had  been  obtained,  and  which 
left  it  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt  but  an  attack  would 
be  speedily  waged  against  that  depot.  One  also  from 
general  Pinckney,  by  express,  arrived,  advising  him 
that  Floyd,  on  the  10th  instant,  would  move  from 
Coweta,  and  in  ten  days  thereafter,  establish  a  position 
atTuckabatchee;  and  recommended,  if  his  force  would 
allow  him  to  do  no  more,  that  he  should  advance 
against  such  of  the  enemy's  towns  as  might  be  within 
convenient  distance ;  that,  by  having  his  troops  em- 
ployed, he  might  keep  disaffection  from  his  ranks,  and 
be,  at  the  same  time,  serviceably  engaged  in  harass- 
ing the  enemy.  If,  therefore,  he  could  have  hesitated 
before,  there  was  now  no  longer  any  room  to  do  so. 


134  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

By  an  expeditious  movement,  he  might  save  Fort 
Armstrong,  and  render  an  essential  service  to  genera) 
Floyd,  by  detaching  a  part  of  the  clans  destined  to 
proceed  against  him.  The  force  which  might  act 
against  either,  was  understood  to  be  then  collected  in 
a  bend  of  the  Tallapoosa,  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek 
called  Emuckfaw,  and  thither  he  determined,  by  the 
nearest  route,  to  direct  his  course. 

As  he  progressed  on  the  march,  a  want  of  the  ne- 
cessary knowledge  in  his  pilots,  of  subordination  in 
his  troops,  and  skill  in  the  officers  who  commanded 
them,  became  more  and  more  apparent ;  but  still  their 
ardour  to  meet  the  enemy  was  not  abated.  Troops 
unacquainted  with  service  are  oftentimes  more  san- 
guine than  veterans.  The  imagination  too  frequently 
portraying  battles  in  the  light  of  a  frolic,  keeps  danger 
at  a  distance,  until,  suddenly  springing  into  view,  it 
becomes  a  monster  too  hideous  to  be  withstood. 

On  the  evening  of  the  21st,  sensible,  from  the  trails 
he  had  fallen  in  upon,  fresh,  and  converging  to  a  point, 
that  he  must  be  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  enemy, 
Jackson  encamped  his  little  army  in  a  hollow  square, 
on  an  eligible  site,  upon  the  eminences  of  Emuckfaw, 
sent  out  his  spies,  posted  his  piquets,  doubled  his  sen- 
tinels, and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  to  guard 
against  attack.  About  midnight  the  spies  came  in  and 
reported  they  had  discovered  a  large  encampment  of 
Indians,  at  about  three  miles  distance,  who,  from  their 
whooping  and  dancing,  their  usual  precursors  to  battle, 
were  no  doubt  apprised  of  his  arrival.  Every  thing- 
was  ready  for  their  reception,  if  they  meditated  an  at- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  135 

tack,  or  to  pursue  in  the  morning,  if  they  did  not  At 
the  dawn  of  day,  the  alarm  guns  of  our  sentinels,  suc- 
ceeded by  shrieks  and  savage  yells,  announced  their 
presence.  They  commenced  a  furious  assault  on  the 
left  flank,  commanded  by  colonel  Higgins,  which  was 
met  and  opposed  with  great  firmness.  General  Coffee, 
and  colonels  Carroll  and  Sitler,  instantly  repaired  to 
the  point  of  attack,  and,  by  example  and  exhortation, 
encouraged  the  men  to  a  performance  of  their  duty. 
The  action  raged  for  half  an  hour  ;  the  brunt  of  which 
being  against  the  left  wing,  it  had  become  consider- 
ably weakened.  It  being  now  sufficiently  light  to  as- 
certain, correctly,  the  position  of  the  enemy,  and  cap- 
tain Ferril's  company  having  come  up  and  reinforced 
the  left  wing,  the  whole  charged,  under  general  Coffee, 
and  a  rout  immediately  ensued.  The  friendly  Indians 
joining  in  the  pursuit,  they  were  chased  about  two 
miles,  with  considerable  loss.  We  had  five  killed,  and 
twenty  wounded.  Until  it  became  light  enough  to  dis- 
cern objects,  our  troops  derived  considerable  advant- 
age from  their  camp  fires ;  these  having  been  placed 
at  some  distance  without  the  line  of  the  encampment, 
afforded  a  decided  superiority  in  a  night  attack,  by 
enabling  those  within  to  fire  with  great  accuracy  on 
an  approaching  enemy,  whilst  they  themselves  re- 
mained invisible  in  the  dark. 

The  pursuit  being  over,  Jackson  detached  general 
Coffee,  with  the  Indians,  and  four  hundred  men,  to 
destroy  the  enemy's  encampment,  unless  he  should 
find  it  too  strongly  fortified ;  in  which  event,  he  was 
to  give  information  immediately,  and  wait  the  arrival 
of  the  artillery.  Coffee,  having  reconnoitred  this  posi- 


136  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOK. 

tion,  and  found  it  too  strong  to  be  assailed  with  the 
force  he  commanded,  returned  to  camp.  The  propriety 
of  this  determination  was  soon  perceived.  He  had  not 
returned  more  than  half  an  hour,  when  a  severe  fire  was 
made  upon  the  piquets,  posted  on  the  right,  accompa- 
nied with  prodigious  yelling.  General  Coffee,  having 
obtained  permission,  proceeded  to  turn  the  left  flank  of 
the  assailants.  This  detachment  being  taken  from  dif- 
ferent corps,  he  placed  himself  at  their  head,  and 
moved  briskly  forward.  Those  in  the  rear,  availing 
themselves  of  this  circumstance,  continued  to  drop  off, 
one  by  one,  without  his  knowledge,  until  the  whole 
number  left  with  him  did  not  exceed  fifty.  It  was 
fortunate  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  he  had  first  to 
attack  was  not  greater.  He  found  them  occupying  a 
ridge  of  open  pine  timber,  covered  with  low  under- 
wood, which  afforded  them  many  opportunities  for  con- 
cealment. To  deprive  them  of  this  advantage,  which 
they  are  very  dexterous  in  taking,  Coffee  ordered  his 
men  to  dismount  and  charge  them.  This  order  was 
promptly  obeyed,  and  some  loss  sustained  in  its  exe- 
cution ;  the  general  himself  was  wounded  through  the 
body,  and  his  aid,  major  Donelson,  killed  by  a  ball 
through  the  head ;— three  of  his  men  also  fell.  The 
enemy,  driven  back  by  the  charge,  took  refuge  on  the 
margin  of  a  creek,  covered  with  reeds,  where  they 
lay  concealed, 

The  savages  having  intended  the  attack  on  the  right 
as  a  feint,  now,  with  their  main  force,  which  had  been 
concealed,  made  a  violent  onset  on  our  left  line,  which 
they  hoped  to  find  weakened,  and  in  disorder.  Gene- 
ral Jackson,  however,  who  had  apprehended  their 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  137 

design,  was  prepared  to  meet  it :  this  line  had  been, 
ordered  to  remain  firm  in  its  position ;  and  when  the 
first  gun  was  heard  in  that  quarter,  he  repaired  thither 
in  person,  and  strengthened  it  by  additional  forces. 
The  first  advance  of  the  enemy,  though  sudden  and 
violent,  was  sustained  with  firmness,  and  opposed  with 
great  gallantry.  The  battle  was  now  maintained  on 
the  part  of  the  assailants,  by  quick  and  irregular  firing, 
from  behind  logs,  trees,  shrubbery,  and  whatever  could 
afford  concealment:  behind  these,  prostrating  them- 
selves after  firing,  and,  reloading,  they  would  rise  and 
again  discharge  their  guns.  After  sustaining  their  fire 
in  this  way  for  some  time,  a  charge,  to  dislodge  them 
from  their  position,  was  ordered :  and  the  whole  line 
under  colonel  Carroll,  by  a  most  brilliant  and  steady 
movement,  broke  upon,  and  threw  them  into  confusion, 
and  they  fled  precipitately  away.  The  pursuit  com- 
menced, and  they  were  overtaken  and  destroyed  in 
considerable  numbers :  their  loss  was  great,  but  never 
certainly  ascertained. 

In  the  mean  time,  general  Coffee  had  been  endea- 
vouring, as  far  as  prudence  would  permit  him  to  make 
the  attempt,  to  drive  the  savages  on  the  right  from 
the  fastnesses  into  which  they  had  retired ;  but  finding 
that  this  could  not  be  done,  without  much  hazard,  and 
considerable  loss,  he  began  to  retire  towards  the  place 
where  he  had  first  dismounted.  This  expedient,  de- 
signed for  stratagem,  produced  the  desired  effect 
The  enemy,  inspirited  by  the  movement,  presuming 
it  a  retreat,  and  to  have  been  adopted  in  consequence 
of  the  severe  firing  they  had  heard  on  the  left  wing, 
now  forsook  their 'hiding  places,  and  rapidly  advanced 


138  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSO1V. 

upon  him.  That  officer  immediately  availed  himself 
of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded,  of  contending  with 
them  again  on  equal  terms ;  and  a  severe  conflict  com- 
menced, and  continued  about  an  hour,  in  which  the 
loss  on  both  sides  was  nearly  equal.  At  this  critical 
juncture,  when  several  of  the  detachment  had  been 
killed,  many  wounded,  and  the  whole  greatly  exhaust- 
ed with  fatigue ;  the  dispersion  of  the  enemy  being 
effected  on  the  left,  a  reinforcement  was  despatched 
by  general  Jackson,  which,  making  its  appearance  on 
the  enemy's  left  flank,  put  an  end  to  the  contest.  Ge- 
neral Coffee,  although  severely  wounded,  still  con- 
tinued the  fight,  and  availing  himself  of  the  arrival  of 
this  additional  strength,  instantly  ordered  a  charge ; 
when  the  enemy,  foreseeing  their  doom,  fled  in  con- 
sternation, and  were  pursued  with  dreadful  slaughter. 
It  is  believed  that  at  this  place  non^  escaped.  Thus 
drew  to  a  close  a  day  of  almost  continual  fighting.* 

Having  brought  in  and  buried  the  dead,  and  dressed 
the  wounded,  preparations  were  made  to  guard  against 
an  attack  by  night,  should  one  be  attempted,  by  or- 
dering a  breast-work  of  timber  around  the  encamp- 
ment ;  a  measure  the  more  necessary,  as  the  spirits  of 

*  The  Indians  had  designed  their  plan  of  operations  well,  though 
the  execution  did  not  succeed.  It  was  intended  to  hring  on  the  at- 
tack at  three  different  points,  at  the  same  time ;  but  a  party  of  the 
Chealegrans,  one  of  the  tribes  which  compose  the  Creek  confede- 
racy, who  had  been  ordered  to  assail  the  right  extremity  of  our 
front  line,  instead  of  doing  so,  thought  it  more  prudent  to  proceed  to 
their  villages,  happy  to  have  passed,  undiscovered,  the  point  they 
had  been  ordered  to  attack.  But  for  this,  the  contest  might  have 
terminated  less  advantageously,  perhaps  disasterously. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

our  troops,  most  of  whom  had  never  before  been  in 
collision  with  an  enemy,  were  observed  visibly  to  flag, 
towards  the  evening.  Indeed,  during  the  night,  it  was 
with  the  utmost  difficulty  the  sentinels  could  be  main- 
tained at  their  posts,  who,  expecting  every  minute 
the  appearance  of  the  enemy,  would,  at  the  least 
noise,  fire  and  run  in.  The  enemy,  however,  whose 
spies  were  around  our  encampment  all  night,  did  not 
think  proper  to  attack  us  in  this  position,  and  the 
morning  broke  without  disturbance.  The  next  day, 
general  Jackson,  having  effected,  as  he  believed,  so 
far  as  he  could,  the  main  objects  of  the  expedition,  a 
diversion  in  favour  of  general  Floyd,  who  was,  at  this 
juncture,  supposed  to  be  carrying  on  his  operations 
lower  down  on  the  Tallapoosa,  and  the  relief  of  Fort 
Armstrong,  began  to  think  of  returning  to  the  Ten 
Islands.  Many  reasons  concurred  to  render  such  a 
measure  proper,  and  indeed  indispensable.  He  had 
not  set  out  prepared  to  make  any  permanent  establish- 
ment in  advance  of  this  present  post;  his  provisions 
were  growing  extremely  scarce,  and  the  country  itself 
afforded  no  means  of  subsistence,  either  for  his  men 
or  their  horses.  His  wounded,  many  of  whom  were 
exceedingly  dangerous,  required  to  be  speedily  taken 
care  of;  whilst  the  present  temper  of  his  soldiery  pre- 
cluded all  hope  that  he  should  be  able  to  effect  any 
thing  of  material  consequence  beyond  what  had  been 
already  effected.  Besides,  if  the  object  were  still  fur- 
ther to  cripple  the  enemy,  this  might  be  more  certain- 
ly attained  by  commencing  a  return,  which,  having 
the  appearance  of  retreat,  would  probably  induce  a 
pursuit,  than  by  attacking  them  in  their  strong  holds ; 
in  which  event,  too,  the  diversion  contemplated  would 


140  LIFE  OP  GENERA!,  JACKSON, 

be  the  more  complete,  by  drawing  them  in  a  different 
direction.  Determined  by  these  considerations,  Jack- 
son ordered  litters  to  be  formed  for  the  transportation 
of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  other  necessary  pre- 
parations to  be  made  for  a  return  march.  Every  thing 
being  ready,  it  was  commenced  at  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  and  continued  without  interruption  until 
nearly  night;  when  the  army  was  encamped  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  on  the  south  side  of  Enotichopco  creek,  in 
the  direction  to  the  ford,  at  which  it  had  been  passed 
in  proceeding  out, 

As  it  was  pretty  evident  that  the  enemy  had  been 
in  pursuit  during  the  day,  a  breast-work  was  thrown 
up,  with  the  utmost  expedition,  and  every  arrange- 
ment made  to  repel  their  attempts,  should  they  medi- 
tate an  attack,  during  the  course  of  the  night,  or  on 
ithe  succeeding  morning.  The  night,  however,  was 
permitted  to  pass  away  without  disturbance,  and  with- 
out any  appearance  of  an  enemy.  From  a  knowledge 
that  they  had  been  hanging  on  his  rear,  during  the 
march  of  the  preceding  day,  and  having  suffered  the 
night  to  wear  through  without  attempting  any  assault 
upon  his  camp,  the  general  was  led  to  conjecture  that 
an  ambuscade  had  been  prepared,  and  that  an  attack 
would  be  made  on  him  whilst  crossing  the  creek  in 
his  front ;  which,  being  deep,  and  the  banks  rugged, 
and  thickly  covered  with  reeds,  afforded  many  advan- 
tages for  such  a  design.  Near  the  crossing  place,  was 
a  deep  ravine,  formed  by  the  protection  of  two  hills, 
overgrown  with  thick  shrubbery  and  brown  sedge, 
which  afforded  every  convenience  for  concealment, 
whilst  it  entirely  prevented  pursuit.  Along  this  route, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  141 

the  army,  in  going  out,  had  passed;  through  it,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  it  would  again  return ;  and 
at  this  defile,  it  was  believed,  an  ambuscade  would  be 
formed,  if  any  were  intended.  Acting  under  these  im- 
pressions, and  with  a  view  to  guard  against  them, 
Jackson  determined  to  take  a  different  route.  He  se- 
cretly despatched,  early  next  morning,  a  few  pioneers, 
to  ascertain  and  designate  another  crossing  place  be- 
low. A  suitable  one  was  presently  discovered,  at 
about  six  hundred  yards  distance  from  the  old  one; 
and  thither  the  general  now  led  his  army ;  having,  pre- 
viously to  commencing  the  march,  formed  his  columns, 
and  the  front  and  rear  guards,  that  he  might  be  in  an 
attitude  for  defence. 

A  beautiful  slope  of  open  woodland  led  down  to  the 
newly  discovered  ford,  where,  except  immediately  on 
the  margin  of  the  creek,  which  was  covered  with  a 
few  reeds,  there  was  nothing  to  obstruct  the  view. 
The  front  guards,  and  part  of  the  columns,  had  pass- 
ed ; — the  wounded  were  also  over,  and  the  artillery 
just  entering  the  creek,  when  an  alarm  gun  was  heard 
in  the  rear.  The  Indians,  unexpectedly  finding  the 
route  was  changed,  quitted  the  defile  where  they  had 
expected  to  commence  the  assault,  and  advanced  upon 
a  company,  under  the  command  of  captain  Russell, 
which  marched  in  the  rear.  Though  assailed  by  great- 
ly superior  numbers,  it  returned  the  fire,  and  gradually 
retired,  until  it  reached  the  rear  guard,  who,  accord- 
ing to  express  instructions  given,  were,  in  the  event 
of  an  attack,  to  face  about,  and  act  as  the  advance, 
whilst  the  right  and  left  columns  should  be  turned  ori 
their  pivots,  so  as  completely  to  loop  the  enemy,  and 


142  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

render  his  destruction  sure.  The  right  column  of  the 
rear  guard  was  commanded  by  colonel  Perkins,  the 
left  by  lieutenant-colonel  Stump,  and  the  centre  co- 
lumn by  colonel  Carroll.  Jackson  was  just  passing  the 
stream  when  the  firing  and  yelling  commenced.  Hav- 
ing instructed  his  aid-de-camp  to  form  a  line  for  the 
protection  of  the  wounded,  who  were  but  a  short  dis- 
tance in  advance,  and  afterwards  to  turn  the  left  co- 
lumn, he  himself  proceeded  to  the  right,  for  a  similar 
purpose.  What  was  his  astonishment,  when,  resting 
in  the  hope  of  certain  victory,  he  beheld  the  right  and 
left  columns  of  the  rear  guard,  after  a  feeble  resist- 
ance, precipitately  give  way,  bringing  with  them  con- 
fusion and  dismay,  and  entirely  obstructing  the  pas- 
sage, over  which  the  principal  strength  of  the  army 
was  to  be  re-crossed !  This  shameful  flight  was  well 
nigh  being  attended  with  the  most  fatal  consequences; 
which  were  alone  averted  by  the  determined  bravery 
of  a  few.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  centre  column  had 
followed  the  example  of  the  other  two,  and  precipita- 
ted themselves  into  the  creek  ;  not  more  than  twenty 
remained  to  oppose  the  violence  of  the  first  assault. 
The  artillery  company,  commanded  by  lieutenant 
Armstrong,  and  composed  of  young  men  of  the  first 
families,  who  had  volunteered  their  services  at  the 
commencement  of  the  campaign,  formed  with  their 
muskets  before  the  piece  of  ordnance  they  had,  and 
hastily  dragged  it  from  the  creek  to  an  eminence,  from 
which  they  could  play  to  advantage.  Here  an  obsti- 
nate conflict  ensued;  the  enemy  endeavouring  to 
charge  and  take  it,  whilst  this  company  formed  with 
their  muskets,  and  resolutely  defended  it.  These 
young  men,  the  few  who  remained  with  colonel  Car- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JAjCKSON.  143 

roll,  and  the  gallant  captain  Quarles,  who  fell  at  their 
head,  with  Russell's  spies,  not  exceeding  in  the  whole 
one  hundred,  maintained  with  the  utmost  firmness,  a 
contest,  for  many  minutes,  against  a  force  five  times 
greater  than  their  own,  and  checked  the  advance  of  a 
foe  already  greatly  inspirited  from  the  consternation 
which  his  first  shock  had  produced.  Every  man  who 
there  fought,  manifested  a  determination  to  prefer 
death  to  flight.  The  brave  lieutenant  Armstrong  fell 
at  the  side  of  his  piece,  by  a  wound  in  the  groin,  and 
exclaimed,  as  he  lay,  "  Some  of  you  must  perish ;  but 
don't  lose  the  gun."  By  his  side,  fell,  mortally  wound- 
ed, his  associate  and  friend,  Bird  Evans,  and  the  gal- 
lant captain  Hamilton ;  who,  having  been  abandoned 
by  his  men,  at  Fort  Strother,  with  his  two  brothers 
and  his  aged  father,  had  attached  himself  to  the  ar- 
tillery company,  as  a  private,  and,  in  that  capacity, 
showed  how  deservedly  he  was  to  command  by  the 
fidelity  with  which  he  obeyed.  Perilous  as  the  hour 
was,  this  little  heroic  band  evinced  themselves  cool 
and  collected,  as  they  were  brave  in  battle.  In  the 
hurry  and  confusion  of  the  moment  the  rammer  and 
pricker  of  the  cannon  could  not  be  disengaged  from 
the  carriage ;  in  this  situation  and  at  such  a  time,  the 
invention  of  most  young  soldiers  might  have  failed; 
but  nothing  fearing,  Craven  Jackson  and  Constantine 
Perkins  drove  home  the  cartridges  with  a  musket,  and 
with  the  ramrod  prepared  them  for  the  match.  In 
the  mean  time,,  while  the  conflict  was  thus  unequally 
sustained,  general  Jackson  and  his  staff  had  been  en- 
abled, by  great  exertions,  to  restore  something  like 
order,  from  confusion.  The  columns  were  again  form- 
ed, and  put  in  motion;  and  small  detachments  had  been 


144  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

sent  across  the  creek  to  support  the  little  band  that 
there  maintained  their  ground.  The  enemy,  perceiv- 
ing a  strong  force  advancing,  and  being  warmly  as- 
sailed on  their  left  flank,  by  captain  Gordon,  at  the 
head  of  his  company  of  spies,  who  had  advanced  from 
the  front,  and  re-crossed  the  creek  in  turn,  were 
stricken  with  alarm,  and  fled  away,  leaving  behind 
their  blankets,  and  whatever  was  likely  to  retard  their 
flight.  Detachments  were  ordered  on  the  pursuit,  who, 
in  a  chase  of  two  miles,  destroyed  many,  and  wholly 
dispersed  them. 

*  In  despite  of  the  active  exertions  made  by  general 
Jackson,  to  restore  order,  they  were,  for  some  time, 
unavailing,  and  the  confusion  continued.  In  addition 
to  the  assistance  received  from  his  staff,  who  were 
every  where  encouraging,  and  seeking  to  arrest  the 
disordered  flight  of  the  columns,  he  derived  much 
from  the  aid  of  general  Coffee.  That  officer,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  wound  which  he  had  very  lately  re- 
ceived at  Emuckfaw,  had,  the  day  before,  been  carried 
in  a  litter.  From  the  apprehensions  indulged,  that  an 
attack  would  probably  be  made  upon  them  that  morn- 
ing, he  had  proceeded  from  the  encampment  on  horse- 
back, and  aided,  during  the  action,  with  his  usual  calm 
and  deliberate  firmness.  Indeed,  all  the  officers  of  his 
brigade,  who,  having  been  abandoned  by  their  men, 
had  formed  themselves  into  a  corps,  and  followed  the 
army  without  a  command,  rendered  manifest,  now,  the 
value  of  experience.  This  was  not  a  moment  for  rules 
of  fancied  etiquette.  The  very  men  who,  a  little  time 
before,  would  have  disdained  advice,  and  spurned  an 
order  from  any  but  their  own  commanders,  did  not 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  145 

scruple  amidst  the  peril  that  surrounded  them,  to  be 
regulated  by  those  who  seemed  to  be  so  much  better 
qualified  for  extricating  them  from  their  present  dan- 
ger. The  hospital  surgeon,  Dr.  Shelby,  appeared  in 
the  fight,  and  rendered  important  military  services. 
The  adjutant-general,  Sitler,  than  whom  none  display- 
ed greater  firmness,  hastened  across  the  creek  in  the 
early  part  of  the  action,  to  the  artillery  company,  for 
which  he  felt  all  the  esprit  de  corps,  having  been  once 
attached  to  it ;  and  there  remained,  supporting  them 
in  their  duties,  and  participating  in  their  dangers. 
Captain  Gordon,  too,  contributed  greatly  to  dispel  the 
peril  of  the  moment,  by  his  active  sally  on  the  left 
flank  of  the  savages.  Of  the  general  himself,  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that  but  for  him  every 
thing  must  have  gone  to  ruin.  On  him,  all  hopes  were 
rested.  In  that  moment  of  confusion,  he  was  the 
rallying  point,  even  for  the  spirits  of  the  brave.  Firm 
and  energetic,  and  at  the  same  time  perfectly  self- 
possessed,  his  example  and  his  authority  alike  con- 
tributed to  arrest  the  flying  and  give  confidence  to 
those  who  maintained  their  ground.  Cowards  forgot 
their  panic,  and  fronted  danger,  when  they  heard  his 
voice  and  beheld  his  manner ;  and  the  brave  would 
have  formed  round  his  body  a  rampart  with  their  own. 
In  the  midst  of  showers  of  balls,  of  which  he  seemed 
unmindful,  he  was  seen  performing  the  duties  of  the 
subordinate  officers,  rallying  the  alarmed,  halting  them 
in  their  flight,  forming  his  columns,  and  inspiriting 
them  by  his  example.  An  army  suddenly  dismayed, 
and  thrown  into  confusion,  was  thus  happily  rescued 
from  a  destruction  which  lately  appeared  inevitable. 
Our  total  loss,  in  the  several  engagements,  on  the  22d, 


146  LIKE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSUJN. 

and  to-day,  was  only  twenty  killed,  and  seventy-five 
wounded,  some  of  whom,  however,  afterwards  died. 
That  of  the  enemy  cannot  be  accurately  stated.  The 
bodies  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  of  their  warri- 
ors were  found ;  this,  however,  may  be  considered  as 
greatly  below  the  real  number ;  nor  can  their  wound- 
ed be  even  conjectured.  As  had  been  generally  the 
case,  the  greatest  slaughter  was  in  the  pursuit.  Scat- 
tered through  the  heights  and  hollows,  many  of  the 
wounded  escaped,  and  many  of  the  killed  were  not 
ascertained.  It  is  certain,  however,  as  was  afterwards 
disclosed  by  prisoners,  that  considerably  more  than 
two  hundred  of  those  who,  on  this  occasion,  went  out 
to  battle,  never  returned ;  but  those  who  did  return, 
unwilling  it  should  be  known  they  were  killed,  and 
feeling  it  might  dispirit  the  nation,  endeavoured  to 
have  it  believed,  and  so  represented  it,  that  they  had 
proceeded  on  some  distant  expedition,  and  would  be 
for  some  time  absent. 

After  this  battle,  in  which  had  been  anticipated  cer- 
tain success,  the  enemy,  tired  of  conflicts  so  disas- 
terous  to  them,  no  more  thought  of  harassing  our 
march.  Having  continued  it,  without  interruption,  over 
high,  broken,  and,  for  the  most  part,  barren  land,  we 
encamped,  on  the  night  of  the  26th,  within  three  miles 
of  Fort  Strother.  Thus  terminated  an  expedition  re- 
plete with  peril,  but  attended  with  effects  highly  be- 
neficial. Fort  Armstrong  was  relieved ;  general  Floyd 
enabled  to  gain  a  victory  at  Autossee,  where,  but  for 
this  movement,  which  had  diverted  much  of  the  ene- 
my's strength,  he  would  most  probably  have  met  de- 
feat; a  considerable  portion  of  the  enemy's  best  forces 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  147 

had  been  destroyed ;  and  an  end  put  to  the  hopes  they 
had  founded  on  our  previous  delays.  Discontent  had 
been  kept  from  our  ranks ;  the  troops  had  been  bene- 
ficially employed ;  and  inactivity,  the  bane  of  every 
army,  had  been  avoided.  But  perhaps  the  greatest 
good  that  resulted  from  the  expedition  was  the  effect 
produced  on  the  minds  of  the  people  at  home,  from 
whom  was  to  be  collected  a  force  sufficient  to  termi- 
nate the  war.  Experience  has  often  proved  the  facility 
with  which  numbers  are  brought  to  a  victorious  stand- 
ard ;  whilst  the  ranks  of  a  defeated  army  are  ever  with 
difficulty  filled.  Any  result,  therefore,  that  was  calcu- 
lated to  bring  an  efficient  force  into  the  field,  was 
highly  important  and  beneficial. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ttie  volunteers  are  discharged. — Execution  of  a  soldier,  and  the  effect 
produced. — New  troops  arrive. —  Want  of  supplies. — Mutiny  with  the 
East  Tennessee  brigade. — General  Jackson  marches  against  the  In- 
dians.— Battle  of  Tohopaka. — Returns  to  Fort  Williams. — Expedition 
to  Hoithlewalee  ;  its  failure,  and  the  causes. — Forms  a  junction  with 
the  Georgia  troops,  and  proceeds  to  the  Hickory  ground. — Indians  sue 
for  peace. —  Weatherford  surrenders  himself. — Arrival  of  general 
Pinckney  at  head-quarters. —  Tennessee  troops  are  ordered  to  be  march- 
ed home,  and  discharged  from  service. 

THE  troops  having  reached,  in  safety,  the  post 
whence  they  had  set  out,  and  their  term  of  service  be- 
ing within  a  short  time  of  expiring,  the  general  de- 
termined to  discharge  them.  The  information  from 
Tennessee,  was,  that  there  would  soon  be  in  the  field 
a  considerable  force,  and  enlisted  for  a  period  suffi- 
cient to  effect  a  termination  of  the  Indian  war.  He 
was  desirous  of  having  every  thing  in  readiness  by  the 
time  of  their  arrival,  that  they  might  be  carried  with- 
out delay  into  active  service.  Detaining  his  late  volun- 
teers, therefore,  a  short  time,  to  complete  boats  for 
the  transportation  of  his  camp  equipage  and  provisions 
down  the  Coosa,  he  directed  them  to  be  marched 
home,  and  there  to  be  honourably  dismissed.  The  fur- 
ther service  of  h'is  artillery  company  was  also  dis- 
pensed with.  His  parting  interview  with  them  was 
interesting  and  affecting;  they  had  rendered  impor- 
tant services,  and  adhered  to  him,  with  great  devoted- 
ness,  in  every  vicissitude,  and  through  every  difficulty 
he  had  encountered,  from  the  commencement  of  the 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  149 

campaign.  Although,  from  the  high  sense  entertained 
of  their  bravery  and  fidelity,  he  would  gladly  have  re- 
tained them,  yet  he  was  too  well  convinced  of  the 
many  sacrifices  these  young  men  had  made,  of  the 
bravery  they  had  displayed,  and  the  patience  with 
which  they  had  submitted  to  those  moments  of  scar- 
city that  had  raised  up  discontents  and  mutiny  in  his 
camp,  not  to  feel  a  desire  to  gratify  their  wishes,  and 
permit  them,  honourably,  to  retire  from  a  service 
which  they  had  already  so  materially  benefitted. 

A  letter  from  Jackson  to  governor  Blount,  hereto- 
fore noticed,  added  to  his  own  sense  of  the  importance 
of  the  crisis,  had  induced  him  to  issue  an  order  on  the 
3d,  directing  twenty-five  hundred  of  the  militia  of  the 
second  division,  to  be  detached,  organized,  and  equip- 
ped, in  conformity  to  an  act  of  congress  of  the  6th  of 
April,  1812.  These  were  to  perform  a  tour  of  three 
months,  to  be  computed  from  the  time  of  rendezvous, 
which  was  appointed  to  be  on  the  28th  instant.  He 
had  also  required  general  Cocke  to  bring  into  the 
field,  under  the  requisition  of  the  secretary  of  war, 
the  quota  he  had  been  instructed  to  raise  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  campaign.  This  officer,  who  had  hitherto 
created  so  many  obstacles,  still  appeared  to  desire 
nothing  more  ardently  than  a  failure  of  the  campaign. 
Although  many  difficulties  had  been  feigned  in  the 
execution  of  the  order  directed  to  him,  he  was  enabled 
to  muster  into  service,  from  his  division,  about  two 
thousand  men.  These,  however,  as  well  as  those 
called  out  from  West  Tennessee,  were  but  indifferent- 
ly armed. 


150  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

The  thirty-ninth  regiment,  under  colonel  Williams, 
had  also  received  orders  to  proceed  to  Jackson's  head- 
quarters, and  act  under  his  command  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war.  It  arrived  on  the  5th  or  6th  of  the 
month,  about  six  hundred  strong.  Most  of  the  men 
were  badly  armed;  this  evil  however,  was  shortly  af- 
terwards remedied. 

The  quarter-masters  and  contractors  were  already 
actively  engaged,  and  endeavouring  to  procure  provi- 
sions and  the  necessary  transportations  for  the  army. 
The  failures,  in  regard  to  former  enterprises,  are  to  be 
ascribed  to  these  two  departments ;  to  the  constant  en- 
deavour of  the  contractors  to  procure  provisions  at  a 
reduced  price,  in  order  to  enhance  their  profits,  and 
to  fears  entertained,  lest,  if  they  should  lay  in  any 
large  supply  it  might  spoil  or  waste  on  their  hands. 
Evils  of  this  kind,  growing  out  of  the  very  nature  of 
the  establishment,  ought,  long  since,  to  have  convinced 
the  government  of  the  propriety  of  resorting  to  some 
other  and  better  mode  for  supplying  its  armies  in 
times  of  war.  The  inconveniences  in  the  quarter-mas- 
ters' department,  were,  indeed,  less  chargeable  to  the 
incumbents  than  to  the  causes  which  they  could  not 
control ;  for,  to  the  extreme  ruggedness  of  the  way 
over  which  wagons  had  to  pass,  was  to  be  added  the 
real  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  sufficient  number  on  the 
frontiers.  That  evils  so  severely  felt,  might,  for  the 
future,  be  avoided,  every  facility  was  afforded  these 
two  departments,  that  the  requisition  now  made  upon 
them  might  be  promptly  complied  with. 

To  give,  however,  sufficient  time,  and  to  prevent 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  151 

any  unnecessary  press,  the  troops  advancing  from 
East  and  West  Tennessee,  were  directed  to  be  halted 
in  the  rear  of  the  depots,  until  ample  stores,  in  ad- 
vance, to  justify  immediate  operations,  should  be  pro- 
vided, and  the  requisite  transportations  procured. 

About  the  middle  of  the  month,  in  expectation  from 
the  numerous  and  strong  assurances  he  had  received, 
that  all  things  were  in  a  state  of  readiness,  Jackson  or- 
dered the  troops  to  advance,  and  form  a  union  at 
head-quarters,  then  at  Fort  Strother.  Greatly  to  his 
surprise  and  mortification,  he  soon  after  learned  that 
the  contractor  from  East  Tennessee  had  again  failed 
to  comply  with  his  engagement,  notwithstanding  the 
ample  means  which  he  possessed,  and  the  full  time 
that  had  been  allowed  him  for  that  purpose.  The 
troops,  however,  agreeably  to  the  order  received,  pro- 
ceeded on  their  march.  Those  from  the  second  divi- 
sion, under  brigadier-general  Johnston,  arrived  on  the 
14th ;  which,  added  to  the  force  under  general  Doher- 
ty,  from  East  Tennessee,  constituted  about  five  thou- 
sand effectives.  Composed,  as  this  army  was,  of 
troops  entirely  raw,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that 
any  thing  short  of  the  greatest  firmness  in  its  officers 
could  restrain  that  course  of  conduct  and  disorder 
which  had  hitherto  so  unhappily  prevailed. 

The  execution  of  a  private,  (John  Woods,)  who  had 
been  sentenced  by  a  court-martial,  on  a  charge  of  mu- 
tiny, produced,  at  this  time,  great  excitement,  and  the 
most  salutary  effects.  That  mutinous  spirit,  which  had 
so  frequently  broken  into  the  camp,  and  for  awhile 
suspended  all  active  operations,  remained  to  be  check 


152  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

ed.  A  fit  occasion  was  now  at  hand  to  evince,  that 
although  militia  when  at  their  fire-sides  at  home, 
might  boast  an  exemption  from  control,  yet  in  the 
field,  those  high  notions  were  to  be  abandoned,  and 
subordination  observed.  Painful  as  it  was  to  the  feel- 
ings of  the  general,  he  viewed  it  as  a  sacrifice  essen- 
tial to  the  preservation  of  good  order,  and  left  the  sen- 
tence of  the  court  to  be  inflicted.  The  execution  was 
productive  of  the  happiest  effects;  order  was  produced, 
and  that  opinion,  which  had  so  long  prevailed,  that  a 
militia-man  was  privileged  and  for  no  offence  liable  to 
suffer  death,  was,  from  that  moment,  abandoned,  and 
a  stricter  obedience  than  had  been  practiced,  after- 
wards characterized  the  army. 

Nothing  was  wanting  now  to  put  the  troops  in  mo- 
tion, and  actively  to  prosecute  the  war,  but  the  want 
of  necessary  supplies.  Remonstrance,  entreaty  and 
threats,  had  long  since  been  used  and  exhausted. 
Every  mean  had  been  resorted  to  to  impress  on  the 
minds  of  the  contractors  the  necessity  of  urging  for- 
ward in  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty  ;  but  the  same 
indifference  and  neglect  were  still  persisted  in.  To 
ward  off  the  effects  of  such  great  evils — evils  which 
he  foresaw  must  again  eventuate  in  discontent  and  re- 
volt, Jackson  resolved  to  pursue  a  different  course, 
and  no  longer  depend  on  persons  who  had  so  fre- 
quently disappointed  him,  and  whose  only  object  was 
the  acquirement  of  wealth.  He  accordingly  despatch- 
ed messengers  to  the  nearest  settlements,  with  direc- 
tions to  purchase  provisions,  at  whatever  price  they 
could  be  procured.  This  course,  to  these  incumbents 
on  the  nation,  afforded  an  argument  Infinitely  stronger 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  153 

than  any  to  which  he  had  before  resorted.   Unexpect- 
edly assailed  in  a  way  they  had  not  previously  thought 
of,  by  being  held  and  made  liable  for  the  amount  of 
the  purchases,  which  by  their  neglect  was  rendered 
necessary,  they  exerted  themselves  in  discharge  of  a 
duty   they   had   hitherto    too   shamefully   neglected. 
Every  expedient  had  been  practised  to  urge  them  to 
a  compliance  of  the  obligations  they  were  under  to 
their  government ;  until  the  present,  none  had  proved 
effectual.     In  one  of  his  letters,  about  this  time,  the 
general  remarks :  "  I  have  no  doubt  but  a  combination 
has  been  formed  to  defeat  the  objects  of  the  cam- 
paign ;  but  the  contractor  ought  to  have  recollected 
that  he  had  disappointed  and  starved  my  army  once ; 
and  now,  in  return,  it  shall  be  amply  provided  for  at 
his  expense.     At  this  point  he  was  to  have  delivered 
the   rations — and   whatever   they  may  cost,   at  this 
place,  he  will  be  required  to  pay :  any  price  that  will 
ensure  their  delivery,  I  have  directed  to  be  given." 
The  supplying  an  army  by  contractors,  he  had  often 
objected  to  as  highly  exceptionable  and  dangerous. 
His  monitor,  on  this  subject,  was  his  own  experience. 
Disappointment,    mutiny,    and    abandonment  by  his 
troops,  when  in  the  full  career  of  success,  and  an  un- 
necessarily protracted  campaign,  were  among  the  evils 
already  experienced,  and  which  he  desired,  if  possible, 
might  be  in  future  avoided.  The  difficulties — the  per- 
plexities he  had  met ;  and  the  constant  dissatisfaction 
which  had  rendered  his  troops  inefficient,  were  wholly 
to  be  attributed  to  those,  who,  in  disregard  of  the 
public  good,  had  looked  alone  to  their  own  imme- 
diate benefit.     It  was  high  time  that  the  feelings  and 
interest  of  such  men  should  be  disregarded,  and  a 


154  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

sense  of  duty  enforced,  by  that  sort  of  appeal  which 
sordid  minds  best  can  understand — an  appeal  to  pro- 
fit and  the  purse. 

Under  these  and  other  circumstances,  which  seemed 
to  involve  the  most  serious  consequences,  the  general 
had  but  little  time  for  either  repose  or  quietness. 
Every  thing  was  moving  in  opposition  to  his  wishes. 
The  East  Tennessee  brigade,  under  the  command  of 
Doherty,  having  been  instructed  to  halt,  until  adequate 
supplies  should  be  received  at  head-quarters,  had  al- 
ready manifested  many  symptoms  of  revolt,  and  was 
with  difficulty  restrained  from  abandoning  the  field 
and  returning  immediately  home.  Added  to  their  own 
discontents,  and  unwillingness  to  remain  in  service, 
much  pains  had  been  taken  by  a  personage  high  in 
authority,  to  scatter  dissention,  and  to  persuade  them 
that  they  had  been  improperly  called  out,  and  without 
sufficient  authority ; — that  the  draft  was  illegal,  and 
that  they  were  under  no  necessity  to  remain.  Argu- 
ments like  these,  when  urged  by  a  man  of  standing 
and  in  office,  were  well  calculated  to  answer  the  end 
desired;  what  the  governing  motive  was  that  gave 
rise  to  a  course  of  conduct  so  much  at  war  with  the 
public  interest,  and  the  duty  of  a  soldier,  is  difficult  to 
be  imagined;  none  was  ever  avowed,  and  certainly 
none  can  be  offered  that  will  account  for  it  satisfac- 
torily. On  the  morning  that  general  Doherty  was 
about  to  proceed  to  head-quarters,  he  was  astonished 
to  hear  the  drums  beating  up  for  volunteers,  to  aban- 
don his  camp  and  return  home.  Notwithstanding  all 
his  efforts  to  prevent  this  injurious  measure,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  deserted,  .His  surprise  was  still 


tIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  155 

greater,  on  receiving  information  in  which  he  confided, 
that  instructions  by  major-general  Cocke,  had  been 
given,  that  in  the  event  any  number  of  the  troops 
should  be  marched  back,  he  would  take  upon  himself 
to  discharge  them  from  all  responsibility  on  their  re- 
turn to  Knoxville.  The  general  had  previously  ap- 
peared at  the  camp  of  Doherty,  and,  by  different 
means,  attempted  to  excite  mutiny  and  disaffection 
among  the  troops.  As  a  reason  for  being  unwilling  to 
assume  the  command  and  go  with  them  to  the  field, 
he  stated,  that  they  would  be  placed  in  a  situation 
which  he  disliked  to  think  of,  and  one  which  his  feel- 
ings would  not  enable  him  to  witness :  that  they  were 
about  to  be  placed  under  the  command  of  general  Jack* 
son,  who  would  impose  on  them  the  severest  trials, 
and  where  they  would  have  to  encounter  every 
imaginable  privation  and  suffering.  He  represented, 
that  at  head-quarters  there  was  not  a  sufficiency 
of  provisions  on  hand  to  last  five  days ;  nor  was  there 
a  probability  that  there  would  happen  any  change  of 
circumstances  for  the  better; — that  should  they  once 
be  placed  in  the  power  of  Jackson,  such  was  his  nature 
and  disposition  that,  with  the  regular  force  under  his 
command,  he  would  compel  them  to  serve  whatever 
length  of  time  he  pleased.  Expressions  like  these,  to 
men  who  had  never  before  been  in  the  field,  and  pro- 
ceeding from  one  who  had  already  been  employed  iij 
a  respectable  command,  were  well  calculated  to  pro*- 
duce  serious  and  alarming  impressions.  Doherty,  who 
was  a  brigadier  in  the  first  division,  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  how  he  should  proceed  with  his  owTn  major-ge- 
neral, who  having  thus  obtruded  himself  into  his  camp, 
was  endeavouring  to  excite  mutiny  and  revolt ;  he 


15l>  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON- 

cordingly  despatched  an  express  to  head-quarters  to 
give  information  to  general  Jackson  of  what  was  pass- 
ing in  his  camp.  The  messenger  arrived,  and,  in  re- 
turn, received  an  order  to  Doherty,  commanding  him, 
peremptorily,  to  seize,  and  send  under  guard  to  Fort 
Strother,  every  officer^  without  regard  to  his  rank, 
who  should  be  found,  in  any  manner,  attempting  to  in- 
cite his  army  to  mutiny.  General  Cocke,  apprehend- 
ing what  was  going  on,  or  perhaps  obtaining  intelli- 
gence, had  retired  before  the  order  arrived,  and  thus 
escaped  the  punishment  due  to  so  aggravated  an  of- 
fence, and  which,  from  the  known  patriotism  and  de- 
cision of  the  commanding  general,  would  doubtless 
have  been  extended. 

About  this  time,  Colonel  Dyer  was  despatched  with 
six  hundred  men,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  the  head 
of  the  Black  Warrior,  and  ascertain  if  any  force  of  the 
Indians  was  embodied  in  that  quarter,  and  disperse 
them,  that  they  might  not,  through  this  route,  be  en- 
abled to  gain  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  cut  off  the  sup- 
plies. This  detachment  having  proceeded  eight  days 
through  the  heights  along  the  Cohawba,  had  fallen  in 
with  a  trail  the  enemy  had  passed,  stretching  east- 
wardly*  and  followed  it  for  some  distance.  Appre- 
hending that  the  army  might  be  on  the  eve  of  departing 
from  Fort  Strother,  and  being  unable  to  obtain  anjr 
certain  information  of  the  savages,  he  desisted  from 
the  pursuit,  and  returned  to  camp. 

That  there  might  be  no  troops  in  the  field  in  a 
situation  not  to  be  serviceable,  a"nd  as  supplies  were  an 
important  consideration,  orders  were  given  the  briga- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  157 

diers  to  dismiss  from  the  ranks  every  invalid,  and  all 
who  were  not  well  armed. 

General  Jackson  having  at  length,  by  constant  and 
unremitted  exertions,  obtained  such  supplies  as  he  be- 
lieved would  be  necessary  to  enable  him  to  proceed, 
determined  to  set  out  and  pursue  his  course  still  fur- 
ther into  the  enemy's  country.  A  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences to  an  army  from  inaction;  a  wish  that  time 
might  not  be  loitered  away  uselessly ;  and  a  conscious- 
ness that  a  sufficiency  of  provisions  was  on  the  way, 
and  could  be  forwarded  to  him  from  the  post  main- 
tained in  his  rear,  prompted  him  to  do  so.  On  the 
14th  he  commenced  his  march,  and  crossing  the  river, 
arrived  on  the  21st  at  the  mouth  of  Cedar  creek, 
which  had  been  previously  selected  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  fort*  At  this  place  it  became  necessary 
to  delay  a  day  or  two,  with  a  view  to  detail  a  suffi- 
cient force  for  the  protection  and  safety  of  the  post, 
and  to  await  the  coming  of  the  provision  boats  which 
were  descending  the  Coosa,  and  which,  as  yet,  had 
not  arrived. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  the  day  of  the  battle  of 
Emuckfaw,  general  Coffee,  as  has  been  already  stated, 
had  been  detached  to  destroy  the  Indian  encampment 
on  the  Tallapoosa ;  having  reconnoitred  their  position, 
and  believing  them  too  strongly  posted  to  be  advan- 
tageously assailed  by  the  force  which  he  then  com- 
manded, he  had  retired  without  making  the  attempt. 
The  position  they  had  chosen  was  at  a  bend  of  the 

*  Fort  Williams. 


158  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

Tallapoosa,  called  by  the  Indians  Tohopeka,  which 
interpreted  into  our  language  means  Horse  Shoe,  not 
far  from  New  Youcka,  and  near  the  Oakfusky  villa- 
ges. Fortified  as  it  was  by  nature,  and  the  skill  and 
exertions  of  the  savages,  no  other  conjecture  was  en- 
tertained, than  at  this  place  was  intended  a  defence 
of  the  most  desperate  and  determined  kind.  Learn- 
ing that  the  Indians  were  still  embodied  here,  Jackson 
resolved,  so  soon  as  the  necessary  arrangements  could 
be  made  to  keep  open  a  communication,  and  preserve 
in  safety  his  rear,  to  make  a  descent  on  it,  and  destroy 
the  confederacy ;  thence,  returning  to  Fort  Williams 
for  provisions,  to  urge  forward  to  the  Hickory  ground, 
where  he  hoped  he  would  be  able  finally  to  terminate 
the  war. 

On  the  24th,  leaving  a  sufficient  force  under  brigk- 
dier-general  Johnston  for  the  protection  of  the  post, 
with  eight  days'  provisions  he  left  Fort  Williams  and 
set  out  for  the  Tallapoosa,  by  the  way  of  Emuckfaw. 
The  whole  force  now  with  him  amounted  to  less  than 
three  thousand  effective  men ;  being  considerably  re- 
duced by  the  necessity  of  leaving  behind  him  detach- 
ments for  garrisons  at  the  different  forts.  At  ten 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  after  a  march  of 
fifty-two  miles,  he  reached  the  village  Tohopeka.  The 
enemy,  having  gained  intelligence  of  his  approach, 
had  collected  in  considerable  numbers,  with  a  view  to 
give  him  battle.  The  warriors  from  the  adjacent 
towns,  Oakfusky,  Hillabee,  Eufalee,  and  New  Youcka, 
amounting  to  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred,  were  here 
collected  ready,  and  waiting  his  approach.  They  could 
have  selected  110  place  better  calculated  for  defence ; 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  159 

for,  independent  of  the  advantages  bestowed  on  it  by 
nature,  their  own  exertions  had  greatly  contributed  to 
its  strength.  Surrounded  almost  entirely  by  the  river, 
it  was  accessible  only  by  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  width,  which  they  had 
taken  much  pains  to  secure  and  defend,  by  placing 
large  timbers  and  trunks  of  trees  horizontally  on  each 
other,  leaving  but  a  single  place  of  entrance.  From  a 
double  row  of  port  holes  formed  in  it,  they  were  ena- 
bled to  give  complete  direction  to  their  fire,  whilst  they 
lay  in  perfect  security  behind. 

General  Coffee,  at  the  head  of  the  mounted  infan- 
try and  friendly  Indians,  had  been  despatched  early 
in  the  morning  from  camp,  with  orders  to  gain  the 
southern  bank  of  the  river,  encircle  the  bend,  and 
make  some  feint,  or  manoeuvring,  by  which  to  divert 
the  enemy  from  the  point  where  the  attack  was  in- 
tended principally  to  be  waged.  He  was  particularly 
instructed  so  to  arrange  and  dispose  the  force  under 
his  command,  that  the  savages  might  not  escape  by 
passing  to  the  opposite  side  in  their  canoes,  with 
which,  it  was  represented,  the  whole  shore  was  lined. 
Jackson,  with  the  rest  of  the  army,  proceeded  to  take 
a  position  in  front  of  the  breast-work.  Having  planted 
his  cannon  on  an  eminence,  about  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  front  of  the  enemy's  line,  with  a  view  to 
break  down  his  defence,  a  brisk  fire  commenced.  The 
musketry  and  rifles,  which  occupied  a  nearer  position, 
were  used  as  the  Indians  occasionally  showed  them- 
selves from  behind  their  works.  The  artillery  was 
well  served  by  major  Bradford,  and  the  fire  kept  up  for 
some  minutes  without  making  any  impression ;  time. 


160  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

however,  was  gained  for  complete  readiness.  The 
signals  having  now  announced  that  general  Coffee  had 
reached  in  safety  his  point  of  destination,  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river,  had  formed  his  line,  and  was 
ready  to  act,  the  order  was  given  to  charge.  "  Never 
were  troops  more  eager  to  be  led  on  than  were  both 
regulars  and  militia.  They  had  been  waiting  with  im- 
patience for  the  order,  and  hailed  it  with  acclamations. 
The  spirit  that  animated  them  was  a  sure  augury  of 
the  success  that  was  to  follow."  Between  them  there 
was  no  difference ;  both  advanced  with  the  intrepidity 
and  firmness  of  veteran  soldiers.  The  thirty-ninth 
regiment,  led  on  by  their  commander,  colonel  Wil- 
liams, and  the  brave  but  ill-fated  major  Montgomery, 
and  the  militia  under  the  command  of  colonel  Bunch, 
moved  forward  amidst  a  destructive  fire  that  continu- 
ally poured  upon  them,  and  were  presently  at  the 
rampart.  Here  an  obstinate  and  destructive  conflict 
ensued,  each  contending  for  the  port  holes,  on  differ- 
ent sides.  Many  of  the  enemy's  balls  were  welded 
between  the  muskets  and  bayonets  of  our  soldiers.  At 
this  moment,  major  Montgomery  leaping  on  the  wall, 
called  to  his  men  to  mount  and  follow  him ;  he  had 
scarcely  spoken,  when,  shot  through  the  head,  he  fell 
lifeless  to  the  ground.  Our  troops  eagerly  followed 
the  example  he  had  set  and  scaled  their  ramparts. 
Finding  it  no  longer  tenable,  the  savages  abandoned 
their  position,  and  retiring  from  their  works  conceal- 
ed themselves  amidst  the  brush  and  timber  that  lay 
thickly  scattered  over  the  peninsula;  whence  they 
continued  resistance,  and  kept  up  a  galling  and  con- 
stant fire,  until  they  were  again  charged,  and  forced 
back.  Driven  to  despair,  not  knowing  whither  to  flee, 


IJFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON*  161 

and  resolving  not  to  surrender,  they  saw  no  other  al- 
ternative, than  an  effort  to  effect  their  escape,  by  pass- 
ing in  their  canoes  to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river ; 
from  this  they  were,  however,  prevented,  by  perceiv- 
ing that  a  part  of  the  army  already  lined  the  opposite 
shore.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  remaining 
warriors,  who  yet  survived  the  severity  of  the  conflict, 
betaking  themselves  to  flight,  leaped  down  the  banks, 
and  concealed  themselves  along  the  cliffs  and  steeps, 
which  were  covered  by  the  trees  that  had  been  felled 
from  their  margin.  Many  had  betaken  themselves  to 
the  west  angle  of  their  line  of  defence,  where,  under 
cover  and  protection  of  heaps  of  brush,  a  spirited  fire 
was  kept  up  upon  those  of  our  troops  who  had  gained 
their  line,  and  those  who  were  advancing  on  the  outer 
side.  From  these  secreted  places  they  would  fire  and 
disappear.  General  Jackson  perceiving  that  further 
resistance  must  involve  them  in  utter  destruction ;  and 
entertaining  a  desire  that  they  should  yield  a  contest 
which  now  evidently  was^Bi  hopeless  one,  ordered  the 
Interpreter  to  advance  with  a  flag,  under  cover  of 
some  trees  which  stood  in  front,  until  he  should  reach 
a  position  sufficiently  near  to  be  heard.  He  did  so* 
and  having  arrived  within  forty  yards  of  the  spot 
where  the  Indians  were  concealed,  in  an  audible  voice, 
and  in  their  own  language,  addressed  them ;  told  them 
of  the  folly  of  further  resistance,  and  that  he  was  com- 
manded by  general  Jackson  to  say,  that  if  disposed  to 
surrender,  they  should  be  received  and  treated  as 
prisoners.  They  waited  patiently  until  he  had  finish- 
ed, and  heard  what  he  had  to  say ; — a  pause  ensued ! 
and  at  the  moment  when  he  was  expecting  to  receive 
an  answer,  and  to  learn  that  a  surrender  would  be  at 

x 


162  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

once  made,  a  fire  was  opened  upon  the  flag,  and  the 
Interpreter  severely  wounded  in  the  breast.  Finding 
they  would  not  yield,  nor  abandon  the  course  of  des- 
peration on  which  they  had  resolutely  fixed  their 
minds,  orders  were  given  to  dislodge  them.  To  ac- 
complish this  the  artillery  was  first  turned  against 
them ;  but  being  from  its  size  incapable  of  producing 
any  effect,  a  charge  was  made,  in  which  several  valu* 
able  lives  were  lost;  it  however  succeeded,  and  the 
enemy  were  dislodged  from  their  covert  place  on  the 
right  angle  of  their  line  of  defence.  Lighted  torches 
were  now  thrown  down  the  steeps,  which,  communi- 
cating with  the  brush  and  trees,  and  setting  them  on 
fire,  drove  them  from  their  hiding  places,  and  brought 
them  to  view.  Still  did  they  refuse  to  surrender,  and 
still  maintained  the  conflict.  Thus  the  carnage  con- 
tinued until  night  separated  the  combatants,  when 
the  few  misguided  savages  who  had  avoided  the 
havoc  and  slaughter  of  the  day,  were  enabled,  through 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  ll  make  their  escape. 

Whilst  the  attack  was  thus  waged  in  front  of  the 
line,  the  friendly  Indians  in  general  Coffee's  detach- 
ment, under  the  command  of  colonel  Morgan,  with 
captain  Russell's  company  of  spies,  were  effecting 
much ;  and  no  doubt,  to  the  course  pursued  by  them, 
on  the  opposite  side,  was  greatly  owing  the  facility 
with  which  the  breast-work  was  scaled,  and  its  pos- 
session obtained.  The  village  stood  on  the  margin  of 
the  river,  and  on  that  part  of  the  peninsula  most  re- 
mote from  the  fortification.  At  the  line  were  all  their 
warriors  collected.  Several  of  the  Cherokees  and 
Russell's  spies  having  swain  across,  unobserved,  and 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  163 

procured  their  canoes,  a  considerable  number  passed 
over,  entered  the  town,  and  fired  it.  No  sooner  was 
this  discovered,  than  their  attention  and  opposition 
was  necessarily  divided,  and  drawn  to  the  protection 
of  a  point  which  they  had  hitherto  believed  secure, 
and  where  they  had  not  apprehended  an  attack.  Thus 
assailed  from  an  unexpected  quarter — a  force  in  their 
rear,  and  another  still  stronger,  advancing  on  their 
front,  the  invading  army  was  afforded  a  much  easier 
and  less  hazardous  opportunity  of  succeeding  in  the 
assault  and  securing  the  victory. 

This  battle  gave  a  death  blow  to  their  hopes ;  nor 
did  they  venture,  afterwards,  to  make  a  stand.  From 
their  fastnesses  in  the  woods  they  had  tried  their 
strength,  agreeably  to  their  accustomed  mode  of  war- 
fare ;  in  ambuscade,  had  brought  on  the  attack ;  and, 
in  all,  failure  and  disaster  had  been  met.  None  of  the 
advantages  incident  on  surprise,  and  for  which  the 
red  men  of  our  forests  have  been  always  so  charac- 
terized, had  they  been  able  to  obtain.  The  continual 
defeats  they  had  received,  were,  doubtless,  the  reason 
of  their  having  so  strongly  fortified  this  place,  where 
they  had  determined  to  perish  or  to  be  victorious. 
That  such  a  resolution  had  been  taken,  is  conclusive, 
from  the  circumstance  of  their  having  permitted  their 
women  and  children  to  remain :  these  they  are  always 
careful  to  remove  far  from  danger,  and  their  scenes  of 
action.  The  assurance  of  success  which  they  indulged, 
arising  from  the  security  their  position  and  defence 
presented,  had  prevented  their  adhering  to  this  pre- 
cautionary measure,  which,  hitherto,  they  had  never- 
overlooked.  In  this  action,  the  best  and  bravest  of 


164  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

their  warriors  were  destroyed ;  and  a  greater  loss  was 
sustained  than  had  been  met  with  in  any  of  their  pre- 
vious contests.  Few  escaped  the  carnage.  Of  the 
killed,  many  by  their  friends  were  thrown  into  the 
river,  whilst  the  battle  raged ; — many,  in  endeavouring 
to  pass  it,  were  sunk  by  the  steady  fire  of  Coffee's 
brigade;  and  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven  were  left 
dead  on  the  ground.  Among  the  number  of  the  slain, 
were  three  of  their  prophets.  Decorated  in  a  most 
fantastic  manner — the  plumage  of  various  birds  about 
their  heads  and  shoulders ;  with  savage  grimaces,  and 
horrid  contortions  of  the  body,  they  danced  and  howl- 
ed their  cantations  to  the  sun.  Their  dependents  al- 
ready believed  a  communion  with  heaven  sure,  which, 
moved  by  entreaty,  and  their  offered  homage,  would 
aid  them  in  the  conflict,  and  give  a  triumph  to  their 
arms.  Fear  had  no  influence  ;  and  when  they  beheld 
our  army  approaching,  and  already  scaling  their  line 
of  defence,  even  then,  far  from  being  dispirited,  hope 
survived,  and  victory  was  still  anticipated.  Monohoe, 
one  of  the  most  considerable  of  their  inspired  ones,  and 
who  had  cheered  and  kept  alive  the  broken  spirit  of 
the  nation  by  his  pretended  divinations,  fell,;,  mortally 
wounded,  by  a  cannon  shot  in  the  mouth,  while  earn- 
estly engaged  in  his  incantations,  and  in  urging  and 
encouraging  his  troops  resolutely  to  contend. 

Three  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  most  of  whom 
were  women  and  children.  That  so  few  warriors- 
should  have  sought  and  obtained  safety,  by  appealing 
to  the  clemency  of  the  victors,  to  persons  acquainted 
with  the  mode  of  Indian  warfare  will  not  appear  a 
matter  of  surprise.  It  seldom  happens  that  they  ex- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  165 

tend  or  solicit  quarter:  faithless  themselves,  they 
place  no  reliance  on  the  faith  of  others ;  and,  when 
overcome  in  battle,  seek  no  other  protection  than  dex- 
terity and  haste  in  retreat  afford.  Another  cause  for 
it  may  be  found  in  a  reason  already  given;  the  attack 
by  a  detachment  of  general  Cocke's  division,  on  the 
Hillabee  clans,  who  were  assailed  and  put  to  the 
sword,  at  a  moment  when,  having  asked  peace  at  dis- 
cretion, they  were  expecting  it  to  be  given.  This 
misfortune  had  alone  been  occasioned  by  a  want  of 
concert  in  the  divisions  of  our  army ;  but  it  was  past, 
and  with  it  was  gone,  on  the  part  of  the  savages,  all 
confidence  in  our  integrity  and  humanity ;  and  they 
looked  and  trusted  for  safety  now  to  nothing  but  their 
own  bravery.  In  this  contest  they  maintained  resist- 
ance, fighting  and  firing  from  their  covert  places, 
long  after  the  hope  either  of  success  or  escape  was, 
or  should  have  been  at  an  end,  and  after  the  proposal 
had  been  submitted  to  spare  the  further  useless  waste 
of  blood.  A  few,  who  had  lain  quiet,  and  concealed 
under  the  cliffs,  survived  the  severity  of  the  conflict, 
and  effected  their  retreat  under  cover  of  the  night. 

Our  loss,  although  considerable,  was  small,  when 
compared  with  that  of  the  enemy ;  the  whole  estimate, 
including  the  friendly  and  Cherokee  Indians,  was  but 
fifty-five  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  wound- 
ed. Of  the  fSrmer  was  major  Montgomery,  a  brave 
and  enterprising  young  officer,  of  the  thirty-ninth  re- 
giment, and  lieutenants  Moulton  and  Somerville,  who 
fell  early  in  the  action. 

The  object  of  the  present  visit  being  answered,  the 


166  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

general,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  with  which  he  had  set 
out,  concluded  to  return  to  Fort  Williams.  Having  sunk 
his  dead  in  the  river,  to  prevent  their  being  scalped  by 
the  savages,  and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
carrying  off  his  wounded,  he  commenced  his  return 
march  for  the  fort,  and  in  a  few  days  reached  it  in 
safety.* 

His  first  object,  on  his  arrival,  was  to  excite,  in  the 
breasts  of  his  soldiers,  a  sense  of  pride  commensurate 
with  the  achievements  they  had  performed,  and  the 
valour  they  had  displayed.  He  was  impelled  to  it 
from  a  consciousness  that  feeling,  once  subsided,  could 
with  difficulty  be  again  aroused ;  and  from  a  desire  to 
ward  off  that  despondency  from  his  ranks  which  had 
once  proved  so  fatal  to  his  hopes.  With  a  view  to 
these  objects,  the  next  day  on  parade,  before  the  fort, 
he  published  to  them  this  address  : 

*  Sinking  them  in  the  river,  in  preference  to  burying  them,  was 
adopted,  from  the  consideration,  that  those  of  our  troops  who  had 
previously  fallen,  had  been  raised,  stripped,  and  scalped.  Many  of 
the  Indians  at  Tohopeka  were  found  in  the  clothes  of  those  who  had 
been  killed  and  buried  at  Emuckfaw.  It  is  true  that  this  could  ope- 
rate no  injury  to  the  dead ;  yet  was  it  important,  that  for  the  future 
this  should  be  prevented.  It  was  a  fact  well  ascertained,  that  the 
Creek  nation,  generally,  were  ignorant  of  the  extent  and  number  of 
their  defeats ;  and  so  long  as  they  could  be  induced  to  believe,  by 
those  who  undertook  to  account  for  it  in  that  way,  that  their  missing 
warriors  were  still  alive,  and  had  gone  on  some  distant  enterprise ; 
or  could  obtain  the  scalps  of  the  killed,  which  they  always  consider 
as  Certain  evidences  of  victory,  the  war  would  continue.  It  was 
thought,  therefore,  better  to  sink  them  in  the  river  than  to  bury 
them,  as  the  enemy  would  be  thereby  deprived  of  those  badges  of 
national  and  individual  distinction,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  to 
shorten  the  period  of  the  war. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  ,         167 

"  You  have  entitled  yourselves  to  the  gratitude  of 
your  country  and  your  general.  The  expedition,  from 
which  you  have  just  returned,  has,  by  your  good  con- 
duct, been  rendered  prosperous,  beyond  any  example 
in  the  history  of  our  warfare :  it  has  redeemed  the 
character  of  your  state,  and  of  that  description  of 
troops  of  which  the  greater  part  of  you  are. 

"  You  have,  within  a  few  days,  opened  your  way  to 
the  Tallapoosa,  and  destroyed  a  confederacy  of  the 
enemy,  ferocious  by  nature,  and  who  had  grown  in- 
solent from  impunity.  Relying  on  their  numbers,  the 
security  of  their  situation,  and  the  assurances  of  their 
prophets,  they  derided  our  approach,  and  already  ex- 
ulted in  anticipation  of  the  victory  they  expected  to 
obtain.  But  they  were  ignorant  of  the  influence  and 
effect  of  government  on  the  human  powers,  nor  knew 
what  brave  men,  and  civilized,  could  effect.  By  their 
yells,  they  hoped  to  frighten  us,  and  with  their  wooden 
fortifications  to  oppose  us.  Stupid  mortals !  their  yells 
but  designated  their  situation  the  more  certainly; 
whilst  their  walls  became  a  snare  for  their  own  de- 
struction. So  will  it  ever  be,  when  presumption  and 
ignorance  contend  against  bravery  and  prudence. 

"  The  fiends  of  the  Tallapoosa  will  no  longer  mur- 
der our  women  and  children,  or  disturb  the  quiet  of 
our  borders.  Their  midnight  flambeaux  will  no  more 
illumine  their  council-house,  or  shine  upon  the  victim 
of  their  infernal  orgies.  In  their  places,  a  new  gene- 
ration will  arise,  who  will  know  their  duty  better.  The 
weapons  of  warfare  will  be  exchanged  for  the  utensils 
of  husbandry ;  and  the  wilderness,  which  now  withers 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

in  sterility,  and  mourns  the  desolation  which  over- 
spreads her,  will  blossom  as  the  rose,  and  become  the 
nursery  of  the  arts.  But  before  this  happy  day  can 
arrive,  other  chastisements  remain  to  be  inflicted.  It 
is  indeed  lamentable,  that  the  path  to  peace  should 
lead  through  blood,  and  over  the  bodies  of  the  slain : 
but  it  is  a  dispensation  of  Providence,  and  perhaps  a 
wise  one  to  inflict  partial  evils,  that  ultimate  good  may 
be  produced. 

"  Our  enemies  are  not  sufficiently  humbled, — they 
do  not  sue  for  peace.  A  collection  of  them  await  our 
approach,  »and  remain  to  be  dispersed.  Buried  in 
ignorance,  and  seduced  by  the  false  pretences  of  their 
prophets,  they  have  the  weakness  to  believe  they  will 
still  be  able  to  make  a  decided  stand  against  us.  They 
must  be  undeceived,  and  made  to  atone  their  obstina- 
cy and  their  crimes,  by  still  further  suffering.  Those 
hopes  which  have  so  long  deluded  them,  must  be 
driven  from  their  last  refuge.  They  must  be  made 
to  know,  that  their  prophets  are  impostors,  and  that 
our  strength  is  mighty,  and  will  prevail.  Then,  and 
not  till  then,  may  we  expect  to  make  with  them  a 
peace  that  shall  be  permanent. 

Understanding  that  the  enemy  was  embodied,  in 
considerable  numbers,  at  Hoithlewalee,  a  town  situa- 
ted not  far  from  the  Hickory  ground,  he  wras  anxious 
to  re-commence  his  operations  as  early  as  possible, 
that  the  advantages  he  had  gained,  and  the  impression 
he  had  made,  might  not  be  lost.  The  forces  under  his 
command,  from  sickness,  the  loss  which  had  been  sus- 
tained in  the  late  battle,  and  numerous  discharges 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  169 

given,  had  been  too  much  reduced  in  strength,  to  per- 
mit him  to  act  as  efficiently  as  the  importance  of  the 
crisis  required.  It  was  desirable,  therefore,  to  effect 
a  junction  with  the  southern  army  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, that,  from  an  increase  and  concentration  of  his 
numbers,  greater  efficiency  might  be  had.  The  North 
Carolina  troops,  under  the  command  of  general  Gra- 
ham, an  experienced  officer  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  those  of  Georgia,  under  colonel  Milton,  were  as- 
certained to  be  somewhere  south  of  the  Tallapoosa, 
and  could  be  at  no  great  distance.  To  unite  with 
them  was  an  event  greatly  desired,  as  well  with  a 
view  to  push  his  operations  more  actively,  as  to  be 
able  to  procure  for  the  army  those  supplies  which  he 
feared  the  resources  within  his  owji  camp  might  not 
sufficiently  afford ;  for  hitherto,  he  had  received  from 
general  Pinckney  strong  assurances  that  all  com- 
plaints on  this  subject  would  be  at  an  end  so  soon  as 
his  and  the  southern  division  could  unite.  No  time 
was  to  be  lost  in  effecting  a  purpose  so  essential. 
General  Jackson  accordingly  determined  to  leave  his 
sick  and  wounded,  and  the  fort,  to  the  care  and  com- 
mand of  brigadier  Johnston,  and  to  set  out  again  for 
the  Tallapoosa.  On  the  7th,  with  all  his  disposable 
force,  he  commenced  his  march,  with  the  double  view 
of  effecting  a  union  with  the  army  below,  and  of  at- 
tacking on  his  route  the  enemy's  force  which  were 
collected  at  Hoithlewalee.  His  greatest  difficulty  was 
in  conveying  to  colonel  Milton  intelligence  of  his  in- 
tended operations.  The  friendly  Indians,  who,  from 
their  knowledge  of  the  country,  had  been  always  se- 
lected as  expresses,  were  with  difficulty  to  be  pre- 
vailed on  now  for  any  such  undertaking.  Believing 


170  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

their  nation  to  be  embodied  in  larger  numbers  than 
any  which  had  been  yet  encountered,  and  that,  con- 
fiding in  their  strength,  they  would  be  better  enabled 
to  go  forth,  searching  and  spying  through  the  sur- 
rounding country,  they  at  once  concluded  that  any 
enterprise  of  this  kind  would  be  attended  with  too 
great  peril  and  danger,  and  the  difficulty  of  eluding 
observation  too  much  increased,  for  them  to  adven- 
ture. This  circumstance  had  as  yet  prevented  the  ar- 
rangement of  such  measures  as  were  best  calculated 
to  bring  the  different  divisions  to  act  in  general  con- 
cert. The  necessity,  however,  of  such  co-operation,  was 
too  important,  at  this  moment,  not  to  be  effected,  if  it 
were  possible.  Should  it  be  possible,  at  the  point 
they  now  occupied,  to  bring  the  enemy  to  battle,  and 
a  decisive  advantage  be  obtained  over  them,  dispirited 
and  broken,  they  might  be  induced  to  submit  to  any 
terms,  and  the  conflict  be  ended ;  but  if  suffered  to 
escape,  they  might  again  collect,  give  battle  at  some 
fortunate  and  unexpected  moment,  and  thereby  pro- 
trfict  the  war  a  considerable  time.  To  prevent  this 
was  desirable ;  and  in  no  other  way  could  it  so  cer- 
tainly be  effected,  than  that  while  the  Tennessee 
troops  under  the  command  of  Jackson  advanced  from 
the  north,  the  Carolinians  and  Georgians  might  make 
such  a  disposition  as  would  prevent  any  escape  of  the 
enemy,  by  their  crossing  the  river,  and  passing  off  in 
the  direction  of  Pensacola  and  the  Escambia. 

Having  at  length  succeeded  in  procuring  confiden- 
tial messengers,  previously  to  setting  out  on  this  ex- 
pedition, Jackson  addressed  colonel  Milton,  and  ad- 
yised  him  of  his  intended  movement  To  guard  against 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  171 

any  accident  or  failure  that  might  happen,  different 
expresses  were  despatched,  by  different  routes.  He 
informed  him,  that  with  eight  days'  provisions,  and  a 
force  of  about  two  thousand  men,  he  should,  on  the 
7th,  take  up  the  line  of  march,  and  proceed  directly 
for  Hoithlewalee ;  which  he  expected  certainly  to 
reach  and  attack  on  the  llth.  He  urged  the  necessi- 
ty of  a  proper  concert  being  established  in  their  move- 
ment* ;  and  either  that  he  should  proceed  against  the 
same  place,  about  the  same  time,  or,  by  making  some 
favourable  diversion  in  the  neighbourhood,  contribute 
to  the  successful  accomplishment  of  the  objects  of  the 
expedition. 

The  point  of  destination,  owing  to  the  torrents  of 
rain  which  had  fallen,  and  raised  the  streams  to  con- 
siderable heights,  he  was  not  able  to  reach  until  the 
13th.  This  delay,  unavoidable,  and  not  to  be  pre- 
vented, gave  the  Indians  an  opportunity  of  fleeing 
from  the  threatened  danger.  On  arriving  at  an  usu- 
ally inconsiderable  stream  which  skirted  the  town,  it 
was  so  swollen  as  to  be  rendered  impassable.  The 
savages,  gaining  intelligence  of  an  approach  that  was 
thus  unavoidably  retarded,  were  enabled  to  effect  an 
escape  by  passing  the  river  in  their  canoes,  and  gain- 
ing the  opposite  shore.  Had  colonel  Milton  fortu- 
nately made  a  different  disposition  of  the  troops  under 
his  command,  and  by  guarding  the  southern  bank  of 
the  river,  co-operated  with  the  Tennessee  division, 
their  escape  would  have  been  prevented,  and  the 
whole  force,  collected,  would  either  have  been  de- 
stroyed or  made  prisoners.  Although  Jackson,  in  his 
letter  of  the  5th,  had  given  intelligence  that  he  would 


172  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

x 

reach  the  enemy  on  the  llth ;  and  when  prevented  fey 
high  waters  and  rotten  roads,  had  again  notified  him 
that  he  would  certainly  arrive  and  commence  the  at- 
tack by  the  morning  of  the  13th,  and  urged  him  to 
guard  the  south  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa,  still  was  the 
request  disregarded,  and  the  savages  permitted  ta 
escape.  Learning  they  were  abandoning  their  posi- 
tion, and  seeking  safety  in  flight,  Jackson  filed  to  the 
right,  and  overtaking  the  refcr  of  the  fugitives,  suc- 
ceeded in  making  twenty-five  prisoners.  At  this  time, 
nothing  was  heard  of  colonel  Milton ;  but  on  the  same 
day,  having  marched  about  five  miles  from  his  en- 
campment at  Fort  Decatur,  and  approached  within 
four  of  Hoithlewalee,  he,  the  next  morning,  gave  no- 
tice of  an  intention  to  attack  the  village  that  day ;  at 
this  moment  the  inhabitants  and  warriors  had  fled,  and 
the  town  was  occupied  and  partly  destroyed  by  a  de- 
tachment from  Jackson's  army  that  had  succeeded  in 
passing  the  creek. 

The  Georgia  army  being  so  near  at  hand,  was  a 
source  of  some  satisfaction,  although  the  escape  of  the 
enemy  had  rendered  their  presence  of  less  importance 
than  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  The  stock  of  pro- 
visions, with  which  the  march  had  been  commenced 
from  Fort  Williams,  was  now  nearly  exhausted.  As- 
surances, however,  having  been  so  repeatedly  given, 
that  abundant  supplies  would  be  had  on  uniting  with 
the  southern  army,  and  that  event  being  now  so  near 
at  hand,  all  uneasiness  upon  the  subject  was  at  once 
dispelled.  Colonel  Milton  was  immediately  applied 
to,  the  situation  of  the  army  disclosed,  and  such  aid 
as  he  could  extend,  solicited.  He  returned  an  answer 


LIFE  €>F  GENERAL  JACKSON.  173 

to  the  general's  demand,  observing,  he  had  sent  pro- 
visions for  the  friendly  Indians,  and  would,  the  next 
day,  lend  some  for  the  remainder  of  the  troops ;  but 
felt  himself  under  no  obligation  to  furnish  any.  Jack* 
son,  fully  satisfied  of  its  being  in  his  power  to  relieve 
him,  and  that  this  apparent  unwillingness  did  not,  and 
could  not  proceed  from  any  scarcity  in  his  camp,  as- 
sumed a  higher  ground,  and  instead  of  asking  assist- 
ance, now  demanded  it.  He  stated,  that  his  men  were 
destitute  of  supplies,  and  that  he  had  been  duly  ap- 
prised of  it;  and  concluded  by  ordering,  not  request* 
ing  him  to  send  five  thousand  rations  immediately,  for 
present  relief;  and  for  himself  and  the  forces  under 
his  command  to  join  him  at  Hoithlewalee  by  ten 
o'clock  the  next  day.  "This  order,"  he  remarked, 
"  must  be  obeyed  without  hesitation." — It  was  obey- 
ed. The  next  day,  a  junction  having  been  effected, 
the  necessary  steps  were  taken  to  bring  down  the 
provisions  deposited  at  Fort  Decatur,  and  for  the  first 
time,  since  the  commencement  of  the  Creek  war,  in- 
conveniences for  the  want  of  supplies,  and  an  appre- 
hension of  suffering,  were  removed. 

Appearances  seemed  now  to  warrant  the  belief,  that 
the  war  would  not  be  of  much  longer  continuance ; 
the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Hickory  ground  tribes  were 
coming  in,  making  professions  of  friendship,  and  giv- 
ing assurances  of  their  being  no  longer  disposed  to 
continue  hostilities.  The  general  had  been  met,  on 
his  late  march,  by  a  flag  from  these  clans,  giving  in- 
formation of  their  disposition  to  be  at  peace.  In  re- 
turn they  received  this  answer;  that  those  of  the  war 
party  who  were  desirous  of  putting  an  end  to  the  con- 


174  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

test  in  which  they  were  engaged,  and  of  becoming 
friendly,  should  evince  their  intention  of  doing  so  by 
retiring  in  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  settling  them- 
selves to  the  north  of  Fort  Williams  ;  that  no  other 
proof  than  this,  of  their  pacific  dispositions,  would  be 
received.  Fourteen  chiefs  of  these  tribes  had  arrived, 
to  furnish  still  further  evidence  of  their  desire  for 
peace.  They  assured  the  general  that  their  old  king, 
Fous-hatchee,  was  anxious  to  be  permitted  to  visit  him 
in  person,  and  was  then  on  his  way,  with  his  followers, 
to  settle  above  Fort  Williams,  agreeably  to  the  infor- 
mation he  had  received  by  the  flag  which  had  lately 
returned  to  him. 

Detachments  were  out  scouring  the  country  to  the 
south,  with  orders  to  break  up  any  collection  of  the 
enemy  that  might  be  heard  of  in  convenient  distance. 
The  main  body  was  prepared  to  advance  to  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  rivers,  where,  until  now,  it  had  been 
expected  the  Indians  would  make  a  last  and  desperate 
stand.*  Every  thing  was  in  readiness  to  proceed  on 
the  march,  when  it  was  announced  to  the  general,  that 
colonel  Milton's  brigade,  which  had  lately  united  with 
him,  was  not  in  a  situation  to  move.  During  the  pre* 
vious  night  some  of  his  wagon  horses  having  strayed 
off,  persons  had  been  sent  in  pursuit,  and  were  expect- 

*  The  Hickory  ground,  or  that  part  of  the  Creek  nation  lying  in 
the  forks,  near  where  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  unite,  was  called 
by  the  Indians  Holy  Ground,  from  a  tradition  and  belief  prevailing 
among  them,  that  it  never  had  been  pressed  by  the  foot  of  a  white 
man.  Acting  under  the  influence  of  their  prophets,  and  a  religious 
fanaticism,  it  was  supposed  they  would  make  greater  exertions  to 
defend  this  than  any  other  portion  of  their  country. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  175 

ed  shortly  to  return  with  them ;  when,  it  was  reported, 
he  would  be  ready  to  take  up  the  line  of  march.  To 
Jackson,  this  was  a  reason  for  delaying  the  operations 
of  an  army  which  as  yet  he  had  never  learned,  and 
by  which  he  had  never  been  influenced.  He  had,  in- 
deed, been  frequently  made  to  halt,  though  from  very 
different  causes ;  from  murmurs,  discontents  and  star- 
vation in  his  camp.  He  replied  to  the  colonel's  want 
of  preparation,  by  telling  him,  that  in  the  progress  of 
his  own  difficulties  he  had  discovered  a  very  excellent 
mode  of  expediting  wagons,  even  without  horses ;  and 
that  if  he  would  detail  him  twenty  men  from  his  bri- 
gade, for  every  wagon  deficient  in  horses,  he  would 
guarantee  their  safe  arrival  at  their  place  of  destina- 
tion. Rather  than  subject  his  men  to  such  drudgery, 
he  preferred  to  dismount  some  of  his  dragoons,  and 
thus  avoided  the  necessity  of  halting  the  army  until 
his  lost  teams  should  arrive. 

The  army  continued  its  march  without  gaining  in- 
telligence of  any  embodied  forces  of  the  enemy ;  and 
without  the  happening  of  any  thing  of  importance, 
reached  old  Toulossee  Fort,  on  the  Coosa  river,  not 
far  from  the  confluence,  at  which  another  was  deter- 
mined to  be  erected,  to  be  called  Fort  Jackson,  after 
the  commanding  general.  Here  the  rivers  approach 
within  one  hundred  poles  of  each  other,  and,  again 
diverging,  unite  six  miles  below.  At  this  place,  the 
chiefs  of  the  different  tribes  were  daily  arriving,  and 
offering  to  submit  on  any  terms.  They  all  concurred 
in  their  statements,  that  those  of  the  hostile  party 
who  were  still  opposed  to  asking  for  peace,  had  fled 
from  the  nation,  and  sought  refuge  along  the  coast  of 


176  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

Florida,  and  in  Pensacola.  General  Jackson  renewed 
the  declaration  which  he  had  previously  made  to  them; 
that  they  could  find  safety  in  no  other  way,  than  by 
repairing  to  the  section  of  the  country  already  pointed 
out  to  them ;  where  they  might  be  quiet  and  free  of 
any  sort  of  molestation. 

To  put  their  friendly  professions,  which  he  distrust- 
ed, at  once  to  the  test,  he  directed  them  to  bring 
Weatherford  to  his  camp,  confined,  that  he  might  be 
dealt  with  as  he  deserved.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
chiefs  of  the  nation,  and  had  been  a  principal  actor  in 
the  butchery  at  Fort  Minims.  Justice  well  demanded 
retaliation  against  him.  Learning  from  the  chiefs,  on 
their  return,  what  had  been  required  of  them  by 
Jackson,  he  was  prevailed  upon,  as  perhaps  the  safer 
course,  to  proceed  to  his  camp  and  make  a  voluntary 
surrender  of  himself.  Having  reached  it,  without  be- 
ing known,  and  obtained  admission  to  the  general's 
quarters,  he  fearlessly  stood  in  his  presence  and  told 
him  he  was  Weatherford,  the  chief  who  had  command- 
ed at  Fort  Minims,  and,  that  desiring  peace  for  him- 
self and  for  his  people,  had  come  to  ask  it.  Somewhat 
surprised  that  one  who  so  richly  merited  punishment 
should  so  sternly  demand  the  protection  which  had 
been  extended  to  others,  Jackson  replied  to  him,  that 
he  was  astonished  he  should  venture  to  appear  in  his 
presence ;  that  he  was  not  ignorant  of  his  having  been 
at  Fort  Mimms,  nor  of  his  inhuman  conduct  there,  for 
which  he  well  deserved  to  die.  "  I  had  directed,"  con- 
tinued he,  "  that  you  should  be  brought  to  me  con- 
fined ;  and  had  you  appeared  in  this  way,  I  should 
have  known  how  to  have  treated  you."  Weatherford 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON,  J77 

replied,  "  I  am  in  your  power — do  with  me  as  you 
please.  I  am  a  soldier.  I  have  done  the  white  peo- 
ple all  the  harm  I  could ;  I  have  fought  them,  and 
fought  them  bravely :  if  I  had  an  army,  I  would  yet 
fight,  and  contend  to  the  last :  but  I  have  none ;  my 
people  are  all  gone.  I  can  now  do  no  more  than  weep 
over  the  misfortunes  of  my  nation."  Pleased  at  the 
firm  and  high-toned  manner  of  this  child  of  the  forest, 
Jackson  informed  him,  that  he  did  not  solicit  him  to 
lay  down  his  arms,  or  to  become  peaceable :  "  The 
terms  on  which  your  nation  can  be  saved,  and  peace 
restored,  has  already  been  disclosed :  in  this  way,  and 
none  other,  can  you  obtain  safety."  If,  however,  he 
desired  still  to  continue  the  war,  and  felt  himself  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  consequences,  although  he  was  then 
completely  in  his  power,  no  advantage  should  be 
taken  of  that  circumstance ;  that  he  was  at  perfect 
liberty  to  retire,  and  unite  himself  with  the  war  party, 
if  he  pleased ;  but  when  taken,  he  should  know  how 
to  treat  him,  for  then,  his  life  should  pay  the  forfeit  of 
his  crimes;  if  this  were  not  desired,  he  might  remain 
where  he  was,  and  should  be  protected. 

Nothing  dismayed !  Weatherford  answered,  that  he 
desired  peace,  that  his  nation  might,  in  some  measure, 
be  relieved  from  their  sufferings ;  that,  independent  of 
other  misfortunes,  growing  out  of  a  state  of  war,  their 
cattle  and  grain  were  all  wasted  and  destroyed,  and 
their  women  and  children  left  destitute  of  provisions. 
"  But,"  continued  he,  "  I  may  be  well  addressed  in 
such  language  now.  There  was  a  time  when  I  had  a 
choice,  and  could  have  answered  you:  I  have  none 
mow — even  hope  has  ended.  Once  I  could  animate  my 

z 


178  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON*. 

warriors  to  battle;  but  I  cannot  animate  the  dead. 
My  warriors  can  no  longer  hear  my  voice  :  their  bones 
are  at  Talladega,  Tallushatchee,  Emuckfaw,  and  To- 
hopeka.  I  have  not  surrendered  myself  thoughtlessly. 
Whilst  there  were  chances  of  success,  I  never  left  my 
post,  nor  supplicated  peace.  But  my  people  are  gone, 
and  I  now  ask  it  for  my  nation,  and  for  myself.  On  the 
miseries  and  misfortunes  brought  upon  my  country,  I 
look  back  with  deepest  sorrow,  arid  wish  to  avert  still 
greater  calamities.  If  I  had  been  left  to  contend  with 
the  Georgia  army,  I  would  have  raised  my  corn  on 
one  bank  of  the  river,  and  fought  them  on  the  other ; 
but  your  people  have  destroyed  my  nation.  You  are 
a  brave  man  :  Lrely  upon  your  generosity.  You  will 
exact  no  terms  of  a  conquered  people  but  such  as 
they  should  accede  to:  whatever  they  may  be,  it 
would  now  be  madness  and  folly  to  oppose.  If  they 
are  opposed,  you  shall  find  me  amongst  the  sternest 
enforcers  of  obedience.  Those  who  would  still  hold 
out,  can  be  influenced  only  by  a  mean  spirit  of  revenge; 
and  to  this  they  must  not,  and  shall  not  sacrifice  the 
last  remnant  of  their  country.  You  have  told  our  na- 
tion where  we  might  go,  and  be  safe.  This  is  good 
talk,  and  they  ought  to  listen  to  it.  They  shall  listen 
to  it." 

The  earnestness  and  bold  independence  of  his  con- 
duct left  no  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  his  professions, 
and  full  confidence  was  reposed  in  his  declarations. 
The  peace  party  became  reconciled  to  him,  and  con- 
sented to  bury  all  previous  animosities.  In  a  few  days 
afterwards,  having  obtained  permission,  he  set  out  from 
camp,  accompanied  by  a  small  party,  to  search  through 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSOX.  179 

the  forest  for  his  followers  and  friends,  and  persuade 
them  to  give  up  a  contest,  in  which  hope  seemed  to 
be  at  an  end,  that  by  timely  submission,  they  might 
their  nation  from  further  disasters. 


The  present  was  a  favourable  moment  for  prevent- 
ing all  further  opposition.  The  enemy,  alarmed  and 
panic  struck,  were  dispersed,  and  fleeing  in  different 
directions.  To  keep  alive  their  apprehensions,  and 
prevent  their  recovering  from  the  fears  with  which 
they  were  now  agitated,  was  of  the  utmost  importance. 
If  time  were  given  them  to  rally,  and  form  further  re- 
solutions, some  plan  of  operation  might  be  concerted  ; 
and  although  it  might  not  be  productive  of  any  serious 
or  alarming  consequences,  yet  it  might  have  a  tendency 
to  lengthen  out  the  war,  and  involve  those  deluded 
people  in  still  greater  wretchedness.  Detachments, 
sufficiently  strong,  were  accordingly  ordered  out,  to 
range  through  the  country,  prevent  their  collecting  at 
any  point,  and  to  scatter  and  destroy  any  who  might 
be  found  concerting  offensive  operations.  Wherever 
they  directed  their  course,  submission,  and  an  anxious 
desire  for  peace,  were  manifested  by  the  natives. 
Those  who  were  still  resolved  upon  a  continuance  of 
the  war,  and  trusted  for  relief  to  the  aid  which  by 
their  British  allies  was  promised,  and  which  they  had 
been  for  some  time  expecting,  had  retired  out  of  the 
country  towards  the  sea  coast,  not  doubting  but  the 
assistance  looked  for  would  shortly  arrive,  enable  them 
to  re-commence  hostilities  with  better  hopes  of  suc- 
cess, and  regain  their  country,  which  they  now  con- 
sidered as  lost.  Many  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors, 
looking  to  the  defeats  they  had  continually  met  with 


180  tlFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON- 

in  all  their  battles,  viewing  it  as  impracticable  with 
any  expectation  of  better  fortune,  to  resist  the  nume- 
rous forces  that  were  collecting,  and  threatening  them 
at  different  points,  and  anxious  to  have  spared  to  them 
yet  a  portion  of  their  country,  determined  to  discard 
all  ideas  of  further  resistance,  and  to  throw  themselves 
for  safety  on  the  mercy  of  their  conquerors.  To  this 
end,  the  chief  men,  from  the  different  tribes,  were 
daily  arriving,  and  asking  for  peace,  on  condition  only., 
that  their  lives  might  be  spared. 

General  Jackson  was  not  ignorant  of  the  faithless- 
ness of  these  people,  and  how  little  confidence  was  to 
be  reposed  in  the  professions  of  an  enemy,  who, 
prompted  by  fear,  could  be  controlled  by  its  influence 
only  whilst  those  fears  were  continued.  He  well 
knew  they  had  been  too  severely  chastised  for  their 
friendship  or  promises  to  be  implicitly  relied  on,  and 
too  much  injured  not  to  feel  a  disposition  to  renew 
the  conflict  with  the  first  flattering  hope  that  dawn- 
ed. Too  many  difficulties  had  been  encountered,  and 
too  many  dangers  past,  in  bringing  those  savages  to  a 
sense  of  duty,  to  leave  them  now  with  no  better  se- 
curity than  mere  professions.  Some  arrangement  was 
necessary  to  be  made  that  should  prove  lasting,  and 
ensure  certainty.  None  seemed  better  calculated  for 
these  ends,  than  what  had  been  already  announced ; 
that  those  disposed  to  throw  away  the  war  club,  and 
renew  their  friendly  relations  with  the  United  States, 
should  retire  in  the  rear  of  the  advance  of  the  army,, 
and  occupy  the  country  about  the  fort  he  had  esta- 
blished, and  to  the  east  of  the  Coosa.  The  effect  of 
such  an  arrangement  he  calculated  would  be  this ;  that 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON*  181 

by  the  line  of  posts  already  established,  he  would  be 
able  to  cut  them  off  from  any  communication  with 
Florida ;  while,  by  being  placed  in  that  part  of  the  na- 
tion inhabited  by  the  friendly  Indians,  whose  fidelity 
was  not  doubted,  the  earliest  intelligence  would  be 
had  of  their  hostile  intentions,  should  any  be  manifest- 
ed. The  conditions  proposed  were  most  cheerfully 
accepted :  and  the  different  tribes  forthwith  sat  out  to 
occupy  a  portion  of  their  country,  which  alone  seemed 
to  promise  them  protection  and  safety.  Proctor,  the 
chief  of  the  Owewoha  war  towns,  to  whom  this  pro- 
mised security  from  danger  had  first  been  made,  was 
reported  to  be  still  at  home,  and  to  have  abandoned 
all  intention  of  removing,  in  consequence  of  permis- 
sion extended  by  the  United  States'  agent  to  the 
Creeks,  for  him  and  his  warriors  to  remain  where  they 
then  were  residing.  On  receiving  this  information,  the 
general  despatched  a  messenger,  with  information  to 
him,  that  whether  he  or  the  agent  were  to  be  obeyed, 
was  for  him  to  decide ;  but  that  he  should  treat  as  ene- 
mies all  who  did  not  immediately  retire  to  the  section 
of  country  which  he  had  pointed  out.  The  chief  of 
Owewoha  found  no  difficulty  in  deciding  the  question, 
and  without  delay  prepared  to  retire  where  he  had 
been  previously  ordered. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Gibson,  who  had  been  sent  out 
with  a  detachment  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
returned,  and  reported,  that  he  had  proceeded  a  con- 
siderable distance  down  the  Alabama  river,  and  had 
destroyed  several  towns  of  the  war  party,  but  could 
gain  no  intelligence  of  a  force  being  any  where  col* 
lected. 


182  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

By  the  establishment  of  Fort  Jackson,  a  line  of  posts 
was  now  formed  from  Tennessee  and  from  Georgia 
to  the  Alabama  river.  The  conduct  and  subdued  spirit 
of  the  Indians  clearly  manifesting  that  they  were  sin- 
cere in  their  desire  for  peace,  nothing  remained  to  be 
done  but  to  arrange  and  organize  the  different  garri- 
sons in  such  a  manner,  that  should  any  hostile  inten- 
tion be  hereafter  discovered,  it  might  be  suppressed 
before  it  could  assume  any  very  threatening  aspect. 
What  final  steps  should  be  taken,  and  what  plans 
adopted,  for  permanent  security,  were  to  be  deferred 
for  the  arrival  of  major-general  Pinckney,  who,  being 
in  the  neighbourhood,  would,  it  was  expected,  on  the 
next  day  reach  Fort  Jackson. 

On  the  20th  general  Pinckney  arrived,  and  assumed, 
in  person,  the  command  of  the  army.  The  course  pur- 
sued by  Jackson,  towards  satisfying  the  Indians,  that 
to  be  peaceable  was  all  that  was  required  of  them, 
meeting  his  approbation,  and  understanding  that  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  nation  were  retiring,  with 
their  families,  whither  they  had  been  directed  to  go, 
he  was  satisfied  hostilities  must  now  cease.  Indepen- 
dent of  their  professions,  heretofore  given,  much  of  the 
property  plundered  at  Fort  Minims,  and  along  the 
frontiers,  having  been  brought  in  and  delivered,  no 
doubt  was  entertained  but  that  all  further  national  op- 
position would  be  withdrawn.  There  being  no  neces- 
sity, therefore,  for  maintaining  an  army  longer  in  the 
field,  orders  were  issued,  on  the  21st,  for  the  troops 
from  Tennessee  to  be  marched  home  and  discharged; 
taking  care,  on  the  route,  to  leave  a  sufficient  force  for 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  183 

the  garrisoning  and  protection  of  the  posts  already 
established. 

To  troops  who  had  been  engaged  in  such  hasty  and 
fatiguing  marches,  who  had  been  so  much  and  so  often 
exposed  to  hardships  and  dangers,  and  who  had  now, 
by  their  zealous  exertions  in  the  cause  of  their  coun- 
try, brought  the  war  to  a  successful  termination,  and 
severely  chastised  the  savages  for  their  unprovoked 
outrages  upon  their  defenceless  frontiers,  it  was  a  plea- 
sure to  retire  to  their  homes  from  the  scenes  of  wretch- 
edness they  had  witnessed,  and  from  a  contest,  where 
every  thing  being  performed,  nothing  remained  to  be 
done.  It  was  a  cheering  reflection  to  these  brave  men, 
that,  their  trials  being  over,  they  were  retiring  to  their 
families  and  homes,  and  carrying  with  them  that  sweet- 
est and  happiest  of  all  consolations  to  a  war-worn  sol- 
dier's mind,  that,  in  the  trying  and  difficult  situations 
in  which  they  had  been  placed,  they  had  acted  with 
honour  to  themselves,  and  with  usefulness  and  fidelity 
to  their  country. 

Whilst  these  arrangements  were  progressing,  the 
friendly  Creeks  were  engaged  in  pursuing  and  destroy- 
ing their  fugitive  countrymen  with  the  most  unrelent- 
ing rigour.  To  have  been  at  the  destruction  of  Fort 
Mimms,  was  a  ground  of  accusation  against  a  warrior, 
which  at  once  placed  him  without  the  pale  of  mercy. 
They  viewed,  or  affected  to  view,  this  unwarranted  and 
unprovoked  offence  with  sentiments  of  deeper  invete- 
racy than  did  even  our  own  troops.  Meeting  a  small 
party  who  were  on  their  way  to  camp,  to  submit  them- 
selves on  the  terms  that  had  been  previously  offered, 


184  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  understanding  they  had  accompanied  Weatherford 
in  his  attack  on  this  fort,  they  arrested  their  progress, 
and  immediately  put  them  to  death.  To  permit  a 
course  of  conduct  like  this,  was  well  calculated  to  keep 
alive  the  timid  apprehensions  of  the  Indians,  and  in- 
duce them  to  consider  the  proffered  terms  of  peace 
which  Jackson  had  presented,  as  a  stratagem  to  lure 
them  into  danger,  and  effect  their  destruction :  sensible 
of  this,  prompt  and  immediate  steps  were  taken  by  the 
commanding  general  to  prevent  its  again  recurring. 

That  people  of  the  same  nation  should  be  found 
marshalled  in  opposition  to  each  other,  is  not  a  matter 
of  surprise,  on  the  principles  and  practice  of  modern 
warfare,  which  affects  to  prove  it  right  to  seize  on  any 
circumstance  that  may  operate  prejudicially  to  an  ene- 
my ;  but  the  patriot,  whose  bosom  swells  with  a  love 
of  country,  must  ever  view  it  with  abhorrence :  and 
although,  from  necessity  or  policy,  he  may  be  compel- 
led to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  afforded  by  such 
a  circumstance,  he  can  never  be  induced  either  to  ap- 
prove or  justify  it.     Although  the  war  had  been  com- 
menced in  opposition  to  the  views  and  wishes  of  the 
friendly  party,  yet  it  was  their  duty  to  have  united. 
Their  entering  the  ranks  of  an  invading  army,  and 
fighting  for  the  extermination  of  their  people,  and  the 
destruction  of  their  nation,  was  a  circumstance  which 
presented  them  in  the  character  of  traitors  to  their 
country,  and  justly  meriting  the  severest  punishment. 

In  two  hours  after  receiving  general  Pinckney's  or- 
der, the  western  troops  commenced  their  return  march, 
and  reached  Fort  Williams  on  the  evening  of  the 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  185 

,24th.  Immediate  measures  were  adopted  for  carry- 
ing into  effect  what  had  been  ordered ;  to  send  out  de- 
tachments to  assail  and  disperse  any  collections  of  the 
war  party  that  might  be  found  on  the  route,  and  within 
striking  distance. 

The  East  Tennessee  troops  having  a  longer  period 
to  serve,  were,  on  that  account,  selected  to  garrison  the 
different  posts.  General  Doherty  was  accordingly  di- 
rected to  detail  from  his  brigade  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men,  for  the  defence  of  those  points,  with 
a  view  to  an  open  communication  being  preserved  with 
Fort  Jackson,  and  to  secure  more  effectually,  a  peace, 
which,  being  supposed  for  the  present  to  be  founded 
in  the  fears  and  distresses  of  the  war  party,  was  per- 
haps not  so  securely  and  firmly  established  as  that  any 
precautionary  measure  should  be  omitted. 

General  Jackson  being  now  about  to  separate  from 
his  army,  did  not  omit  to  disclose  to  them  the  high 
sense  he  entertained  of  their  conduct,  and  how  well 
they  had  deserved  of  their  country.  "  Within  a  few 
days,"  said  he,  "  you  have  annihilated  the  power  of  a 
nation  that  for  twenty  years  has  been  the  disturber 
of  your  peace.  Your  vengeance  has  been  satisfied. 
Wherever  these  infuriated  allies  of  our  arch  enemy  as- 
sembled for  battle,  you  pursued  and  dispersed  them. 
The  rapidity  of  your  movements,  and  the  brilliancy  of 
your  achievements,  have  corresponded  with  the  valour 
by  which  you  have  been  animated.  The  bravery  you 
have  displayed  in  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  uniform 
good  conduct  you  have  manifested  in  your  encamp- 
ment, a#d  on  your  line  of  march,  will  long  be  cherished 

2A 


|86  I4FE  OF  GENERAL  JACKS0N. 

in  the  memory  of  your  general,  and  will  not  be  for- 
gotten by  the  country  which  you  have  so  materially 
benefited," 

The  constant  and  rapid  movements  of  these  troops 
for  the  time  they  had  been  in  service,  had  greatly  ex- 
posed them ;  and  although  many  hardships  had  been 
encountered,  yet  their  duty  had  been  performed  with- 
out murmuring.  A  retrospect  of  the  last  month  will 
show,  that  more  could  scarcely  have  been  done.  Fort 
Williams  was  reached  just  four  weeks  from  the  time 
they  had  left  it,  on  the  expedition  to  Tohopeka,  where 
they  had  met  and  conquered  the  enemy ;  whence,  re-r 
turning,  not  with  a  view  to  obtain  rest,  but  to  recruit 
the  exhausted  state  of  their  provisions,  in  one  week  was 
this  same  army  on  its  way  to  Hoithlewalee,  where,  sup- 
ported and  encouraged  by  their  prophets,  was  col- 
lected the  strength  of  the  nation  ;  and  where,  but  for 
the  absence  of  the  Georgia  army,  they  must  have 
been  captured  or  destroyed,  the  war  ended,  and  all 
apprehension  of  future  resistance  quieted.  To  this 
point  did  they  urge  forward,  over  mountains,  and 
through  torrents  of  continual  rain,  that  rendered  the 
route  almost  impassable  ;  and  reached  and  destroyed, 
on  the  14th,  a  town  which  the  inspired  men  of  the  nation 
had  declared  was  consecrated,  and  on  which  no  white 
man  was  ever  to  be  permitted  to  tread  with  impuni^ 
ty.  On  the  17th,  they  are  found  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa,  treading  still  this  conse- 
crated soil,  and  driving  the  panic-struck  savages  be- 
fore them ;  and  again,  on  the  24th,  are  at  Fort  Wil- 
liams, retiring  to  their  homes,  from  the  labours  they 
had  encountered,  and  from  the  conquests  they  ha<| 


OF  GENERA^  JACKSON. 

gained.  In  such  celerity  of  movement,  is  to  be  found 
the  cause  which  secured  to  Jackson  and  his  army  the 
uniform  successes  they  obtained.  So  rapid  were  his 
marches,  that  not  unfrequently  was  he  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  enemy  before  they  had  received  any 
intelligence  of  his  approach ;  in  addition  to  this,  was 
attached  to  him  the  quality,  that  few  generals  ever 
possessed  in  a  higher  degree,  of  inspiring  firmness  in 
his  ranks,  and  making  even  the  timid  brave.  An  en- 
tire confidence  of  success,  a  full  assurance  of  victory, 
and  a  fearlessness  and  disregard  of  danger,  were  the 
feelings  displayed  by  himself  in  all  difficult  situations, 
and  those  feelings  he  possessed  the  happy  faculty  of 
inspiring  into  others,  and  of  diffusing  through  his  army. 

Whether  any  of  the  hostile  party  were  yet  on  the 
Cohawba,  or  had  fled  for  safety  to  the  British  and  Spa- 
niards at  Pensacola,  was  uncertain.  To  ascertain  this 
fact,  to  disperse  them,  and  destroy  their  villages,  gene- 
ral Johnston  was  despatched,  at  the  head  of  five  hun- 
dred men,  with  orders  to  proceed  along  this  river  to 
its  head  branches,  effect  the  object  so  far  as  it  was 
practicable,  and  re-unite  with  the  main  army  at  Depo- 
sit. Jackson  reported  to  general  Pinckney,  that  his 
orders  had  been  complied  with;  that  four  hundred 
troops  had  been  detailed  for  the  protection  of  Fort 
Williams,  and  that  he  would  leave  at  the  other  points 
a  force  correspondent  to  their  exposed  situations. 
"  The  remainder  of  my  troops,"  he  continues,  "  I  shall 
march  to  Tennessee,  where  I  shall  discharge  them : 
after  which,  I  shall  no  longer  consider  myself  account- 
able for  the  manner  in  which  the  posts  may  be  defend- 
ed, or  the  line  of  communication  kept  open; — happy 


188  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

that  the  time  for  which  I  offered  my  services  to  my 
government,  and  the  duties  which  they  assigned  me  to 
perform,  will  have  terminated  together." 

The  army  proceeded  on  its  march,  and  crossing 
Tennessee  river,  in  safety  reached  Camp  Blount,  near 
Fayetteville,  where  they  were  discharged  from  further 
service.  Johnston,  who  had  previously  fallen  in,  had 
destroyed  some  of  the  enemy's  towns ;  but  had  learn- 
ed nothing  of  a  force  being  any  where  embodied  along 
the  route  he  had  taken. 

On  parting  from  his  troops,  the  general  again  brought 
before  them  the  recollection  he  retained  of  their  faith- 
ful and  gallant  conduct,  and  the  patience  with  which 
they  had  borne  the  privations  and  hardships  of  war* 
On  his  return,  wherever  he  passed,  the  plaudits  of  the 
people  were  liberally  bestowed.  The  ardent  and  ex- 
traordinary zeal  he  had  manifested  in  the  service  of 
his  country,  the  difficulties  he  had  surmounted,  with 
the  favourable  termination,  which,  by  his  exertions, 
had  been  given  to  a  contest  that  had  kept  alive  the 
anxieties  and  fears  of  the  frontier  settlers,  excited  a 
general  feeling  of  gratitude  and  admiration ;  all  were 
ready  to  evince  the  high  sense  they  entertained  of  the 
success  with  which  every  effort  had  been  crowned, 
and  with  one  accord  united  in  manifesting  their  confi- 
dence and  respect  for  him,  who,  by  his  zealous  exer- 
tions, able  management,  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  embarked,  had  so  greatly  contributed  to 
the  safety,  the  happiness,  and  quiet  of  the  country* 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Jackson  is  appointed  a  major-general  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
— Is  directed  to  oj>en  a  negotiation  with  the  Indians. — Speech  of  the 
Big  Warrior i  a  chief  of  the  nation. — Concludes  a  treaty  with  tht 
Creek  Indians. — His  views  against  Pensacola  and  Florida. — General 
•Armstrong's  letter. — The  Spanish  governor  is  called  on  for  an  explana- 
tion, of  his  conduct. — 'His  answer,  and  general  Jackson's  reply.—* 
The  adjutant-general  is  despatched  to  Tennessee  to  raise  volunteers. — • 
Jackson  sets  out  for  Mobile. — Orders  the  Tennessee  troops  to  advance 
to  his  assistance. 

A  WAR,  from  which  greater  and  more  serious  inju- 
ries had  been  apprehended,  was  thus  advantageously 
terminated.  Although  many  valuable  lives  were  lost 
in  the  contest,  yet  was  the  number  far  less  than  might 
have  been  expected,  in  contending  with  an  enemy 
whose  wrath  was  without  bounds,  and  whose  cruelty 
was  insatiate.  To  the  rapidity  with  which  an  army  had 
been  collected  and  pressed  into  the  heart  of  their  coun- 
try, was  owing  th$  circumstance  that  the  frontiers  were 
not  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  settlers.  Though 
humanity  may  weep  over  the  misfortunes  of  this  mis- 
guided people,  and  regret  that  they  were  sunk  in  such 
irretrievable  woes,  yet  there  is  a  consolation  for  the 
country  left ;  that  if  it  be  a  crime,  it  is  in  no  wise  charge- 
able on  the  American  government.  Towards  them  had 
been  exercised  every  possible  forbearance.  For  more 
than  twenty  years  had  the  western  people  been  the 
victims  of  their  unrelenting  cruelties  ;  and  many  a  pa* 
rent  lives  at  this  day,  whose  recollection  treasures  a 
child  that  bled  beneath  their  murderous  hands.  Cold 


190  tlFE  OF  GENERAL 

Water,  on  the  Tennessee,  was  long  a  den  for  these 
savages,  whence  they  made  inroads,  and,  by  their  inhu- 
man butcheries,  kept  the  frontier  inhabitants  in  per- 
petual alarm.  An  expedition  from  Tennessee,  acting 
without  the  consent  of  the  government,  but  with  a  view 
to  the  security  their  own  situation  so  imperiously  de- 
manded, as  early  as  the  year  1787,  made  a  descent  on 
this  settlement  and  destroyed  it.  This  active  and  re- 
solute measure  had  insured  to  the  inhabitants  a  tran- 
quillity to  which  they  had  long  been  strangers.  Those 
who  escaped,  retired  to  the  Black  Warrior,  carrying 
with  them  an  additional  spirit  of  revenge,  which  occa- 
sionally, when  a  favourable  opportunity  occurred,  dis- 
played itself  in  the  murder  of  our  citizens,  until  the 
winter  of  1813,  when  their  towns  were  again  assailed 
and  destroyed. 

The  war  in  which  the  United  States  were  engaged 
with  Great  Britain,  afforded,  as  they  believed,  a  safe 
opportunity  again  to  satiate  their  angry  passions.  In 
addition  to  former  animosities  retained,  British  emis- 
saries had  been  among  them,  engaged  to  excite  and 
encourage  them  to  opposition.  Arms  and  ammu- 
nition from  Pensacola,  having  been  liberally  furnished, 
and  a  belief  strongly  inspired,  that  the  Americans  could 
be  driven  off,  and  the  lands  possessed  by  them  re-gain- 
ed by  the  Indians,  they  at  once  resolved  upon  the 
Bourse  they  would  pursue.  The  dreadful  and  cruel  as- 
sault made  on  the  settlement  of  Tensaw,  was  the  first 
intelligence  afforded  of  the  lengths  to  which  they  had 
determined  to  proceed.  The  insecurity  of  the  fron- 
tiers, requiring  that  efficient  measures  should  be  taken 
to  defend  them,  it  was  high  time  for  the  government 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  191 

to  abandon  the  course  of  moderation  and  forbearance 
they  had  hitherto  practised  towards  those  tribes.  The 
legislature  of  Tennessee,  at  the  period  of  this  brutal 
and  murderous  assault,  being  in  session,  with  a  promp- 
titude highly  honourable,  called  out  the  forces  of  the 
state,  without  giving  to  the  general  government,  and 
waiting  the  result,  information  of  the  threatened  dan- 
ger. To  protect  an  extensive  country,  by  erecting 
garrisons,  and  relying  on  them  for  defence,  did  not  ap- 
pear to  Jackson  a  course  at  all  likely  to  assure  its  ob- 
ject. Placed  in  command,  and  called  on  to  act,  he  de- 
termined with  the  troops  he  could  collect  on  so  sudden 
an  emergency,  to  carry  the  war  to  their  very  doors  ; 
and,  by  giving  them  employment  at  home,  to  divert 
them  from  their  plans,  and  force  them  at  once  into 
measures  of  defence.  Urging  the  contractors,  there- 
fore, to  be  diligent  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  and 
to  forward  supplies  with  all  possible  haste,  he  took  his 
position  at  Fort  Strother,  directly  in  the  enemy's  coun- 
try. The  battle  of  Talladega,  which  shortly  after- 
wards followed,  gave  a  severe  check  to  those  sanguine 
hopes  they  had  indulged,  induced  them  to  believe  they 
were  contending  with  a  different  kind  of  people  from 
what  they  had  expected,  and  should  have  convinced 
them,  too,  that  the  promised  safety,  offered  by  their 
prophets,  through  their  spells  and  incantations,  was 
mere  mockery  and  nonsense;  yet  so  deluded  were 
they,  and  so  confidently  confiding  in  the  supernatural 
powers  of  their  inspired  men,  that  they  were  ready 
to  attribute  a  want  of  success  to  circumstances  over 
which  their  prophets  could,  in  future,  claim  controul : 
at  length  however,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the 
prophets  themselves  did  not  escape  that  fatality  which 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 


attended  their  warriors  in  battle,  they  began  to  think, 
either  that  they  had  never  been  commissioned,  or  that 
the  Great  Spirit,  for  some  unknown  cause,  had  be- 
come offended,  and  withdrawn  his  confidence. 

The  death  of  Monohoe,  at  the  battle  of  Tohopeka, 
is  strongly  illustrative  of  the  infatuations  under  which 
these  deluded  and  ignorant  people  laboured.  They 
did  not  at  all  doubt,  but,  as  their  prophets  had  told 
them,  that  having  been  spoiled  of  their  hunting 
grounds,  they  were  again  to  re-occupy  them  through 
the  aid  of  a  new  people,  who  from  beyond  the  great 
waters  were  coming  to  assist  in  their  recovery.  A  con- 
fidence in  what  those  soothsayers  disclosed,  would 
also,  they  believed,  produce  the  effect  of  protecting 
and  guarding  them  from  wounds  and  injury  when  en- 
gaged  in  battle.  All  those  idle  and  marvellous  stories 
were  confided  in ;  but  when,  at  this  battle,  one  of  their 
principal  prophets  fell,  and  by  a  cannon  shot  received 
in  the  mouth,  they  adopted  the  opinion,  that  the  cha- 
racter of  the  wound  was  a  judgment  on  his  false  pre- 
tensions, and  forthwith  were  departed  from  those 
visions  of  faith  which  previously  they  had  entertained. 

Had  Jackson  been  enabled,  after  his  first  battle  with 
the  enemy,  to  have  prosecuted  the  campaign,  it  might 
have  had  a  much  earlier  conclusion ;  but  although  he 
had,  at  the  onset,  obtained  advantages  from  which 
much  benefit  might  have  arisen,  yet,  from  the  want  of 
proper  exertions  on  the  part  of  the  contractors,  he  was 
halted,  and  compelled  to  retrace  his  steps  back  to  his 
first  position.  From  the  delays  unavoidably  met  with 
here,  flowed  those  grievances  which  gave  a  check  to 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  193 

further  operations.  The  winter,  against  which  his 
troops  were  ill  provided,  was  fast  approaching ;  hard- 
ships, and  hunger,  which  were  alrfeady  pressing,  with 
a  long  fatiguing  campaign  in  prospect,  presented  a 
thousand  imaginary  difficulties,  and  excited  discon- 
tents, which  presently  broke  out  into  open  mutiny ;  and 
although  the  intention  of  the  volunteers,  to  desert 
the  service,  and  retire  home,  had  been  prevented 
by  the  stern  and  resolute  conduct  of  their  general, 
yet  were  they  thereby  unfitted  for  the  duties  of  the 
fiield,  because  entire  confidence  was  no  longer  to  be 
reposed.  To  venture  with  such  troops,  who,  whilst  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  were  uplifted,  to  wreak 
vengeance  on  their  devoted  frontiers,  were  coolly  con- 
struing the  effect  and  meaning  of  laws,  was  too  unsafe 
a  reliance  for  a  commander  whose  first  object  was 
to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  savages  the  determina- 
tion and  strength  of  the  government  he  represented. 
It  was  adventuring  too  largely ;  for,  should  defeat  re- 
sult, the  difficulty  of  drawing  a  new  army  to  the  field, 
would  be  increased;  whilst  that  self-confidence  in 
troops,  so  necessary  to  complete  success,  would  es- 
sentially be  lost  It  was  believed  to  be  the  safer 
course,  to  permit  his  discontented  volunteers  to  de- 
part, arid  await  the  arrival  of  another  force.  These  cir- 
cumstances had  a  tendency  to  encourage  the  Indians, 
and  protract  the  war.  Had  the  volunteers  proceeded 
with  the  animation  and  bravery  which  characterized 
them  in  the  battle  they  had  just  fought,  they  would 
have  gradually  acquired  a  confidence  which  would 
have  rendered  them  an  overmatch  for  Indian  valour 
and  cunning ;  whilst  by  one  further  successful  effort, 
they  might  have  dispirited  the  enemy,  and  ended  the 

2B 


194  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

campaign.  But  the  arrival  of  a  different  description 
of  troops,  and  the  confusion  into  which  they  were 
thrown  at  the  battle  of  Enotichopco,  had  encouraged 
the  savages,  and  induced  them  to  think  the  contest  by 
no  means  a  hazardous  one.  The  despondency  which 
had  resulted  from  their  previous  defeats,  was  from 
that  moment  forgotten ;  and,  again  inspirited,  they 
looked  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  object  with 
hopes  of  certainty  even  greater  than  before.  Perhaps, 
however,  it  was  fortunate  for  ourselves  that  events 
transpired  in  the  way  they  did.  Had  peace  been  re- 
stored in  consequence  of  any  early  fears  excited,  it 
might  have  lasted  only  until  a  favourable  opportunity 
occurred  of  again  breaking  it;  but  the  war  having 
continued,  until  the  hopes,  the  strength,  and  spirit  of 
the  nation  were  exhausted,  nothing  serious  is  now  to 
be  apprehended  from  any  hostile  disposition  that  may 
hereafter  be  manifested.  Other  advantages  will  also 
result.  The  uniform  and  uninterrupted  successes  ob- 
tained over  them,  in  all  our  battles,  may  impress  the 
minds,  not  only  of  these,  but  of  the  Indians  generally 
within  our  limits,  with  a  higher  reverence  for  the 
character  of  our  nation  than  they  have  hitherto  been 
disposed  to  entertain;  give  protection  to  our  citizens, 
and  ensure  that  security  to  the  government  which  the 
mildness  it  has  practised,  and  the  tribute  it  has  con- 
stantly given  them  for  their  peace,  has,  heretofore, 
never  been  able  to  effect ;  they  will  tend  to  destroy 
the  influence  held  over  them  by  other  nations,  and 
bring  them  to  a  conviction,  that  the  United  States  is 
the  only  power  whose  hostility  they  should  fear,  or 
whose  friendship  they  should  prize. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

It  was  now  eight  months  since  general  Jackson  had 
left  home,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  Indian  war ; 
during  most  of  which  time  he  had  been  in  a  situation 
of  bodily  infirmity  that  would  have  directed  a  prudent 
man  to  his  bed,  instead  of  advancing  to  the  field. 
During  this  period,  he  had  never  seen  his  family,  or 
been  absent  from  the  army,  except  to  visit  the  posts 
in  his  rear,  and  arrange  with  his  contractors  some  cer- 
tain plan  to  guard  against  a  future  failure  of  supplies. 
His  health  was  still  delicate,  and  rendered  retirement 
essential  to  its  restoration ;  but  his  uniformly  success- 
ful and  good  conduct,  and  the  essential  advantages  he 
had  produced,  had  brought  him  too  conspicuously  be- 
fore the  public  for  any  other  sentiment  to  be  indulged 
than  that  he  should  be  placed,  with  an  important  com- 
mand, in  the  service  of  the  United  States* 

The  resignation  of  general  Hampton  enabled  the 
government,  in  a  short  time,  to  afford  him  an  evidence 
of  the  respect  it  entertained  for  his  services  and  cha- 
racter. A  notice  of  IMS  appointment  as  brigadier  and 
brevet  major-general,  was  forwarded  on  the  22d  of 
May,  from  the  war  department  General  Harrison 
having,  about  this  time,  for  some  cause,  become  dis- 
satisfied with  the  conduct  of  the  government  towards 
him,  refused  to  be  longer  considered  one  of  her  mili- 
tary actors ;  to  supply  which  vacancy,  a  commission 
of  major-general  was  forwarded  to  Jackson,  which 
reached  him  the  day  after  the  notification  of  his  first 
appointment,  and  before  he  had  been  enabled  to  re- 
turn an  answer  whether  or  not  it  would  be  accepted. 
The  important  services  which  he  had  rendered,  added 
to  the  rank  which,  under  the  authority  of  hi?  state, 


196  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

he  had  held,  might  well  induce  a  doubt  whether  the 
appointment  first  conferred  was  at  all  complimentary, 
or  one  which,  in  justice  to  his  own  character,  he  could 
have  accepted.  Whatever  of  objection  there  might  or 
could  have  arisen,  on  this  subject,  was  removed  by 
the  subsequent  appointment  of  major-general,  made 
on  the  resignation  of  Harrison,  and  which  was  ac- 
cepted. 

The  contest  with  the  Indians  being  ended,  the  first 
and  principal  object  of  the  government  was,  to  enter 
into  some  definitive  arrangement  which  should  de- 
prive of  success  any  effort  that  might  hereafter  be 
made,  by  other  powers,  to  enlist  those  savages  in  their 
wars.  None  was  so  well  calculated  to  answer  this  end, 
as  that  of  restricting  their  limits,  so  as  to  cut  off  their 
communication  with  British  and  Spanish  agents  in 
East  and  West  Florida. 

No  treaty  of  friendship  or  of  boundary  had  yet  been 
entered  into  by  the  government  with  the  Indians  : 
they  remained  a  conquered  people,  and  within  the  li- 
mits, and  subject  to  the  regulations  and  restrictions 
which  had  been  prescribed  in  March,  by  general  Jack- 
son, when  he  retired  from  their  country.  He  was  now, 
by  the  government,  called  upon  to  act  in  a  new  and 
different  character,  and  to  negotiate  the  terms  upon 
which  an  amicable  understanding  should  be  restored 
between  the  United  States  and  these  conquered  In- 
dians. But  for  the  government  to  proceed  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  equal  and  reciprocal  treaty  stipulations,  was, 
in  reference  to  the  expensive  war  imposed  on  them, 
and  the  unprovoked  manner  in  which  it  had  been 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  197 

begun,  not  to  be  expected.  Those  Indians  had  broken 
without  cause  the  treaty  they  had  made,  outraged  hu- 
manity, and  murdered  our  imoflfending-citizens.  Un- 
der such  circumstances,  by  the  peace  now  to  be  con- 
cluded, to  negotiate  with,  and  as  heretofore  recognize 
them  as  an  independent  and  sovereign  people,  com- 
ported not  with  propriety,  nor  was  demanded  by  any  of 
the  ties  of  moral  duty.  General  Jackson,  therefore,  was 
directed  to  treat  with  them  as  a  conquered  people,  and 
to  prescribe,  not  negotiate,  the  terms  and  conditions 
of  a  peace.  Colonel  Hawkins,  who  for  a  considerable 
time  past,  had  been  the  agent  to  this  nation,  was  also 
associated  in  the  mission.  With  the  western  people 
the  appointment  was  not  acceptable,  and  much  solici- 
tude was  felt  from  an  apprehension  of  his  influence 
and  weight  of  character  amongst  the  Indians  ;  and  a 
fear  that  his  partialities  and  sympathies  might  incline 
him  too  much  to  their  interest.  Colonel  Hawkins  may 
have  been  deceived,  and  may  have  founded  his  opin- 
ions upon  data  presumed  to  be  correct ;  but  when  it 
occurred  to  them  that  previously  to  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  his  repeated  declarations  had  been, 
that  the  Indians  would  maintain  a  rigid  adherence  to 
their  treaties,  and  remain  at  peace,  they  were  far  from 
being  satisfied  that  he  should  be  connected  in  the  ne- 
gotiation contemplated  to  be  entered  into. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  the  general,  with  a  small  reti- 
nue, reached  the  Alabama  ;  and  on  the  10th  of  August, 
after  some  difficulty,  succeeded  in  procuring  the  exe- 
cution of  a  treaty,  in  which  the  Indians  pledged  them- 
selves no  more  to  listen  to  foreign  emissaries, — to  hold 
no  communication  with  British  or  Spanish  garrisons ; 


198  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

guaranteed  to  the  United  States  the  right  of  erecting 
military  posts  in  their  country,  and  a  free  navigation  of 
all  their  waters.  They  stipulated  also,  that  they  would 
suffer  no  agent  or  trader  to  pass  among  them,  or  hold 
any  kind  of  commerce  or  intercourse  with  their  nation, 
unless  specially  deriving  his  authority  from  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

The  stipulations  and  exactions  of  this  treaty  were 
in  conformity  with,  instructions  issued  from  the  de- 
partment of  war,  and  differs  in  expression  from  what 
has  been  usually  contained  in  instruments  of  a  similar 
kind.  It  breathes  the  language  of  demand,  not  of  con- 
tract and  agreement ;  and  hence  has  general  Jackson 
been  censured  for  the  manner  after  which  the  negoti- 
ation was  concluded.  The  course  however,  which  was 
pursued,  is  readily  justified  by  the  terms  and  expres- 
sions of  the  order  under  which  he  acted,  and  which 
prevented  the  exercise  of  discretion.  General  Arm- 
strong, who  at  that  time  was  in  the  cabinet,  and  spoke 
the  sentiments  of  the  president,  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  Jackson  on  the  24th  of  March,  uses  the  following 
remarks.  "  It  has  occurred  to  me,  that  the  proposed 
treaty  with  the  Creeks,  should  take  a  form  altogether 
military,  and  be  in  the  nature  of  a  capitulation;  in 
which  case,  the  wiiole  authority  of  making  and  con- 
cluding the  terms,  will  be  in  you  exclusively  as  com- 
manding general."  Accompanying  which  were  in- 
structions formally  drawn  up,  and  which  were  to  con- 
stitute the  basis  on  which  the  negotiation  was  to  rest* 

*  In  the  instructions  which  issued  from  the  department  of  war, 
as  the  basis  on  which  this  treaty  was  to  be  concluded,  it  is  enjoined 
by  the  secretary  to  exact, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  199 

To  settle  the  boundary,  defining  the  extent  of  terri- 
tory to  be  secured  to  the  Creeks,  and  that  which  they 
would  be  required  to  surrender,  was  attended  with 
difficulty,  from  the  intrigues  of  the  Cherokee  nation, 
who  sought  to  obtain  such  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
lines  as  would  give  them  a  considerable  portion  of 
country  never  attached  to  their  claim.  The  Creeks 
had  heretofore  permitted  this  tribe  to  extend  its  set- 
tlements as  low  down  the  Coosa  as  the  mouth  of  Wills' 
creek.  It  was  insisted  now  in  private  council,  that 
as  they  were  about  to  surrender  their  country  lying 
on  the  Tennessee  river,  they  should,  previously  to 
signing  the  treaty,  acknowledge  the  extension  of  the 
Cherokee  bpundary,  which  would  secure  their  claim 
against  that  of  the  United  States.  The  only  reply  ob- 


1st.  An  indemnification  for  expenses  incurred  by  the  United  States 
in  prosecuting  the  war,  by  such  cession  of  land  as  may  be  deemed  an 
equivalent  for  said  expenses. 

2d.  A  stipulation  on  their  part  that  they  will  cease  all  intercourse 
with  any  Spanish  port,  garrison  or  town  ;  and  that  they  will  not  admit 
amongst  them  any  agent  or  trader  who  does  not  derive  his  authority 
or  license  from  the  United  States. 

3d.  An  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  open 
roads  through  their  territory ;  and  also  to  establish  such  military  posts 
and  trading  houses  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  and  proper ;  and 

4th.  A  surrender  of  the  prophets  and  other  instigators  of  the  war, 
to  be  held  subject  to  the  order  of  the  president. 

You  are  authorized,  in  conjunction  with  colonel  Hawkins,  to.  open 
and  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  hostile  Creeks,  as  soon,  as 
they  shall  express  a  desire  to  put  an  end  to  the  war. 

J.  ARMSTRONG. 


200  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

tained  from  the  Creeks  was  in  truly  Indian  spirit,  that 
they  could  not  lie,  by  admitting  what  did  not  in  reality 
exist. 

The  United  States  might,  without  violence  to  those 
feelings  benevolence  excites,  have  demanded  entirely 
their  country,  and  either  have  treated  the  Indians  as 
vassals,  and  subjected  them  to  legislative  control,  or 
admitted  them  into  their  national  compact,  with  such 
rights  of  citizenship,  as,  from  their  peculiar  habits  of 
life,  they  were  calculated  safely  to  enjoy ;  but  the  hu- 
mane and  generous  policy  which  had  been  sedulously 
maintained  in  all  transactions  with  the  savages  within 
their  limits,  induced  the  government  to  require,  in  the 
cession,  only  such  portion  of  their  country  as  might 
prove  a  tendency  to  bar  every  avenue  to  foreign  in* 
trigue,  and  give  additional  strength  to  those  sections  of 
the  union,  which,  from  their  limited  extent  of  territory 
and  consequent  limited  population,  were  unable  to  af- 
ford sufficient  supplies  for  the  subsistence  of  an  army, 
or  give  a  partial  check  to  the  inroads  of  an  invading 
enemy.  The  lines  defined  by  the  treaty  were  so  ar- 
ranged as  fully  to  meet  these  objects.  Sufficient  ter- 
ritory was  acquired  on  the  south  to  give  security  to 
the  Mobile  settlements,  and  to  the  western  borders  of 
Georgia,  which  had  often  felt  the  stroke  of  Indian  ven- 
geance and  cruelty ;  while  at  the  same  time  was  effect- 
ed the  important  purpose  of  separating  them  from  the 
Seminole  tribes  and  our  unfriendly  neighbours  in  Flo- 
|  rida.  To  the  frontiers  of  Tennessee  an  assurance  of 
safety  was  given  by  the  settlements  which  would  be 
afforded  on  the  lands  stretching  along  the  Tennessee 
river;  whilst  the  extent  of  the  cession,  west  of  the 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  201 

Coosa,  would  effectually  cut  off  all  communication  with 
the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  and  prevent,  in  future, 
the  passage  of  those  emissaries  from  the  north-western 
tribes,  who,  during  the  present  war,  had  so  industrious- 
ly fomented  the  discontents  of  the  Creeks,  and  excited 
them  to  hostility.  It  is  a  happy  consideration,  that 
whilst  these  advantages  wrere  obtained,  no  material  in- 
jury was  done  to  those  vanquished  people.  Their 
country,  extensive  as  it  was,  presented  none  of  those 
Inducements  to  the  hunter,  which  could,  as  heretofore, 
be  relied  on  with  certainty ;  while,  for  all  the  purposes 
of  agriculture,  the  part  reserved  to  them  was  more 
than  sufficient  for  fifty  times  the  population  which 
their  nation  contained.  It  may  appear  plausible  in  theo- 
ry, but  practice  will  always  disprove  the  idea,  that  the 
civilization  of  Indians  can  be  effected,  whilst,  scattered 
through  an  immense  wilderness,  they  are  left  to  pur- 
sue their  vagrant  wandering  habits  of  life.  Inured  to 
peculiar  manners,  from  the  earliest  period  of  their 
lives,  it  certainly  would  not  answer  to  innovate  at  once 
upon  their  ancient  customs ;  but,  were  their  extensive 
wilds  gradually  reduced,  so,  in  proportion,  would  the 
benefits  resulting  from  hunting,  and  wandering  through 
the  forest,  subside,  until  prompted  at  last  by  necessi- 
ty, they  wrould  resort  to  industry  and  agriculture,  as? 
the  only  certain  and  lasting  means  of  support,  and  thus 
imperceptibly  be  forced  into  a  different  and  more  ad- 
vantageous course  of  life. 

Unwilling  to  resort  to  any  other  mode  of  living 
than  that  to  which  they  had  been  always  accustomed; 
and  satisfied  that  the  means  of  subsistence  would  be 
lost  in  the  surrender  of  their  country,  they  remained 

2c 


202  UFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

obstinately  opposed  to  every  arrangement.  Before 
being  finally  acted  upon,  the  treaty  had  been  fully 
debated  in  council,  and  the  voice  of  the  nation  pro* 
nounced  against  it.  Jackson  had  already  submitted 
the  views  of  his  government,  and  npw  met  them  in 
council,  to  learn  their  determination.  He  was  answer- 
ed by  the  Big  Warrior,  a  friendly  chief,  and  one  of  the 
first  orators  of  the  nation,  who  declared  the  reluctance 
that  was  felt,  in  yielding  to  the  demand,  from  a  con? 
viction  of  the  consequences  involved,  and  the  dis- 
tresses it  must  inevitably  bring  upon  them.  The  firm 
and  dignified  eloquence  of  this  untutored  orator, 
evinced  a  nerve  and  force  of  expression,  that  might 
not  have  passed  unnoticed,  had  it  been  exhibited  be- 
fore a  more  highly  polished  assembly :  the  conclusion 
of  his  speech  is  given,  for  the  satisfaction  of  such  as 
can  mark  the  bold  display  of  savage  genius,  and  ad- 
mire it  when  discovered.  Having  unfolded  the  causes 
that  produced  the  war,  told  of  their  sufferings,  and 
admitted  that  they  had  been  preserved  alone  by  the 
army  which  had  hastened  to  their  assistance,  he 
urged,  that  although  in  justice,  it  might  be  required 
of  them  to  defray,  by  a  transfer  of  a  portion  of  their 
country,  the  expenses  incurred,  yet  was  the  demand 
premature,  because  the  war  was  not  ended,  nor  the 
war  party  conquered ;  they  had  only  fled  away,  and 
might  yet  return.  He  portrayed  the  habits  of  the  In- 
dians, and  how  seriously  they  would  be  affected  by  the 
surrender  required  of  them,  and  thus  concluded : 

v  The  president,  our  father,  advises  us  to  honesty 
and  fairness,  and  promises  that  justice  shall  be  done : 
I  hope  and  trust  it  will  be !  I  made  this  war,  which 


tiFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  203 

has  proved  so  fatal  to  my  country,  that  the  treaty  en- 
tered into  a  long  time  ago,  with  father  Washington, 
might  not  be  broken.  To  his  friendly  arm  I  hold  fast- 
I  will  never  break  that  bright  chain  of  friendship  we 
made  together,  and  which  bound  us  to  stand  to  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  father  to  the  Muscoga  peo- 
ple ;  and  not  only  to  them,  but  to  all  the  people  be- 
neath the  sun.  His  talk  I  now  hold  in  my  hand. 
There  sits  the  agent  he  sent  among  us.  Never  has  he 
broken  the  treaty.  He  has  lived  with  us  a  long  time. 
He  has  seen  our  children  born,  who  now  have  children. 
By  his  direction,  cloth  was  wove,  and  clothes  were 
made,  and  spread  through  our  country;  but  the  Red 
Sticks  came,  and  destroyed  all, — we  have  none  now. 
Hard  is  our  situation,  and  you  ought  to  consider  it. 
I  state  what  all  the  nation  knows :  nothing  will  I  keep 
secret 

"  There  stands  the  Little  Warrior.  While  we  were 
seeking  to  give  satisfaction  for  the  murders  that  had 
been  committed,  he  proved  a  mischief-maker ;  he  went 
to  the  British  on  the  lakes ;  he  came  back,  and  brought 
a  package  to  the  frontiers,  which  increased  the  mur- 
ders here.  This  conduct  has  already  made  the  war 
party  to  suffer  greatly :  but,  although  almost  destroy- 
ed, they  will  not  yet  open  their  eyes,  but  are  still  led 
away  by  the  British  at  Pensacola.  Not  so  with  us : 
we  were  rational,  and  had  our  senses — we  yet  are  so. 
In  the  war  of  the  revolution,  our  father  beyond  the 
waters  encouraged  us  to  join  him,  and  we  did  so.  We 
had  no  sense  then.  The  promises  he  made  were  never 
kept  We  were  young  and  foolish,  and  fought  with 
him.  The  British  can  no  more  persuade  us  to  do 


204  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

wrong :  they  have  deceived  us  once,  and  can  deceive 
us  no  more.  You  are  two  great  people.  If  you  go  t© 
war,  we  will  have  no  concern  in  it ;  for  we  are  not 
able  to  fight.  We  wish  to  be  at  peace  with  every 
nation.  If  they  offer  me  arms,  I  will  say  to  them,  You 
put  me  in  danger,  to  war  against  a  people  born  in  our 
own  land  They  shall  never  force  us  into  danger. 
You  shall  never  see  that  our  chiefs  are  boys  in  coun- 
cil, who  will  be  forced  to  do  any  thing.  I  talk  thus, 
knowing  that  father  Washington  advised  us  never  to 
interfere  in  wars.  He  told  us  that  those  in  peace  were 
the  happiest  people.  He  told  us,  that  if  an  enemy  at- 
tacked him,  he  had  warriors  enough,  and  did  not  wish 
his  red  children  to  help  him.  If  the  British  advise  us 
to  any  thing,  I  will  tell  you — not  hide  it  from  you.  If 
they  say  we  must  fight,  I  will  tell  them,  No  !" 

The  war  party  being  not  entirely  subdued,  was  but 
a  pretext  to  avoid  the  demands  which  were  made ; 
presuming  that  if  the  council  could  break  up,  without 
any  thing  being  definitely  done,  they  might,  in  part, 
or  perhaps  altogether,  avoid  what  was  now  required 
of  them  to  do ;  but  the  inflexibility  of  the  person  with 
whom  they  were  treating,  evinced  to  them,  that  how- 
ever just  and  well  founded  might  be  their  objections, 
the  policy  under  which  he  acted  was  too  clearly  de- 
fined, for  any  abandonment  of  his  demands  to  be  at 
all  calculated  upon.  Shelocta,  one  of  their  chiefs,  who 
had  united  with  our  troops  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war ;  who  had  marched  and  fought  with  them  in 
all  their  battles ;  and  had  attached  to  himself  strongly 
the  confidence  of  the  commanding  general,  now  ad- 
dressed him.  He  told  him  of  the  regard  he  had  ever 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  205' 

felt  for  his  white  brothers,  and  with  what  zeal  he  had 
exerted  himself  to  preserve  peace,  and  keep  in  friend- 
ship with  them ;  when  his  efforts  had  failed,  he  had 
taken  up  arms  against  his  own  country,  and  fought 
against  his  own  people ;  that  he  was  not  opposed  to 
yielding  the  lands  lying  on  the  Alabama,  which  would 
answer  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  any  intercourse  with 
the  Spaniards ;  but  the  country  west  of  the  Coosa  he 
wished  to  be  preserved  to  the  nation.*  To  effect  this, 
he  appealed  to  the  feelings  of  Jackson ;  told  him  of 
the  dangers  they  had  passed  together;  and  of  his 
faithfulness  to  him  in  the  trying  scenes  through  which 
they  had  gone. 

There  were,  indeed,  none  whose  voice  ought  sooner 
to  have  been  heard  than  Shelocta's.  None  had  ren- 
dered greater  services,  and  none  had  been  more  faith- 
ful. He  had  claims,  growing  out  of  his  fidelity,  that 
few  others  had :  but  his  wishes  were  so  much  at  vari- 
ance with  what  Jackson  considered  the  interest  of  his 
country  required,  that  he  was  answered  without  hesi- 
tation. "  You  know,"  said  he,  "  that  the  portion  of 
country  which  you  desire  to  retain,  is  that  through 
which  the  intruders  and  mischief-makers  from  the 
lakes  reached  you,  and  urged  your  nation  to  those 
acts  of  violence  that  have  involved  your  people  in 
wretchedness,  and  your  country  in  ruin.  Through  it 
leads  the  path  Tecumseh  trod,  when  he  came  to  visit 
you :  that  path  must  be  stopped.  Until  this  be  done, 
your  nation  cannot  expect  happiness,  nor  mine  secu- 
rity. I  have  already  told  you  the  reasons  for  de- 

*  This  country  west  of  the  Coosa  now  forms  the  respectable  state 
of  Alabama,  admitted  into  the  Union  in  the  year  1819. 


206  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

manding  it :  they  are  such  as  ought  not — cannot  be 
departed  from.  This  evening  must  determine  whe- 
ther or  not  you  are  disposed  to  become  friendly.  By 
rejecting  the  treaty  you  will  show  that  you  are  the 
enemies  of  the  United  States — enemies  even  to  your- 
selves." He  admitted  it  to  be  true,  that  the  war  was 
not  ended,  yet  that  this  was  an  additional  reason  why 
the  cession  should  be  made ;  that  then  a  line  would 
be  drawn,  by  which  his  soldiers  would  be  enabled  to 
distinguish  and  know  their  friends.  "When  our  ar- 
mies," continued  he,  "  came  here,  the  hostile  party 
had  even  stripped  you  of  your  country :  we  retook  it, 
and  now  offer  to  restore  it ; — theirs  we  propose  to  re- 
tain. Those  who  are  disposed  to  give  effect  to  the 
treaty,  will  sign  it.  They  will  be  within  our  territory ; 
will  be  protected  and  fed ;  and  no  enemy  of  theirs,  or 
ours,  shall  molest  them.  Those  who  are  opposed  to 
it  shall  have  permission  to  retire  to  Pensacola.  Here 
is  the  paper:  take  it,  and  show  the  president  who  are 
his  friends.  Consult,  and  this  evening  let  me  know 
who  will  assent  to  it,  and  who  will  not.  I  do  not  wish, 
nor  will  I  attempt  to  force  any  of  you — act  as  you 
think  proper." 

They  proceeded  to  deliberate  and  re-examine  the 
course  they  should  pursue,  which  terminated  in  their 
assent  to  the  treaty,  and  the  extension  of  those  advan- 
tages that  had  been  insisted  on.* 

*  It  was  agreed  that  the  line  should  begin  where  the  Cherokee 
southern  boundary  crossed  the  Coosa,  to  run  down  that  river  to  Woe- 
tum-.ka,  or  the  Big  Falls,  and  thence  eastwardly  to  Georgia.  East 
and  north  of  this  line,  containing  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  square  miles,  remained  to  the  Indians.  West  and  south  was 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  ,         207 

In  the  progress  of  this  business  another  difficulty 
arose :  the  council  insisted  that  there  should  be  insert- 
ed in  the  treaty  a  reservation  of  certain  tracts  of  land ; 

secured  to  the  United  States.  There  are  few  nations  in  the  world, 
that  would  have  acted  with  such  justice  and  lenity  towards  a  van- 
quished people.  The  country  had  been  conquered  and  won,  at  con- 
siderable expense  and  loss.  Few  governments,  under  such  circum- 
stances, would  have  done  less  than  to  have  taken  what  best  suited  their 
convenience,  without  attempting  to  bargain  at  all  upon  the  subject; 
more  especially  when  the  territory  in  question  occupied  a  space  of 
more  than  two  hundred  miles,  through  which  the  western  people, 
seeking  a  market  on  the  ocean,  were,  on  their  return  home,  under 
the  necessity  of  passing ;  and  where,  for  the  want  of  accommodation, 
numerous  exposures  and  hardships  were  encountered.  Scarcely, 
however,  had  the  treaty  been  entered  into,  when  every  tribe  in  the 
neighbourhood,  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and  Cherokees,  asserted 
their  claims,  each,  to  a  part  of  the  cession.  The  latter  set  up  a  title  to 
the  whole  extent  lying  along  the  Tennessee  river,  and  in  the  end  suc- 
ceeded in  having  it  recognized  by  the  government.  The  other  two 
tribes,  gathering  confidence  from  their  success,  came  forward,  and 
were  no  less  fortunate.  The  United  States,  to  remove  every  ground 
of  complaint,  opened  a  negotiation  with  these  Indians,  and  purchased 
their  interest  at  the  price  that  was  demanded.  When  it  is  considered 
that  these  claims  were  set  up  by  inconsiderable  clans,  which  might 
at  a  word,  have  been  hushed  to  silence,  it  affords  the  highest  eulogy 
on  the  justice  and  magnanimity  of  our  government,  that,  instead  of 
attemping  any  exercise  of  its  power,  for  the  furtherance  of  its  views, 
their  complaints  were  heard,  and  peaceably  quieted,  by  paying  them 
the  equivalent  they  required. 

The  liberality  of  the  act  is  more  apparent,  when  it  is  taken  into 
consideration,  that  the  claim  of  the  Creek  Indians  was  unquestion- 
ably the  best.  The  coming  of  the  other  tribes  to  this  section  of  coun- 
try is  capable  of  being  traced  by  Indian  traditional  history.  "  Some 
came  from  the  west,  beyond  the  great  river  Mississippi ;  others  from 
the  north;"  but  the  same  record  knows  nothing  of  the  Creeks.  So 
far  back  as  it  extends,  they  are  traced  as  the  most  numerous  and  war- 
like of  the  southern  tribes;  and  are  spoken  of  "as  coming  out  of  the 


208  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

one  for  colonel  Hawkins,  in  consideration  of  his  fideli- 
ty to  them  as  an  agent ;  and  another  to  Jackson,  be- 
cause of  the  gratitude  felt  towards  him  for  his  exer- 
tions in  their  favour  against  the  hostile  Creeks.  To 
this  the  general  objected.  It  was  personal  as  it  re- 
garded himself,  and  he  was  unwilling  to  appear  in  any 
point  of  view,  where  suspicion  could  attach,  that  he 
had  availed  himself  of  his  official  situation  to  obtain 
personal  benefits  ;  fully  aware,  that  however  the  facts 
might  be,  selfish  considerations  would  be  imputed  as 
an  inducement  to  what  was  done.  He  refused,  there- 
fore, to  have  it  inserted ;  and  for  the  further  reason, 
that  the  instructions  under  which  he  was  acting,  re-* 
quired  it  to  be  a  capitulation,  not  a  treaty.  The  next 
morning,  however,  when  they  met  in  council  to  sjgn  the 
instrument,  the  chiefs  delivered  to  the  general  a  paper, 
expressing  a  wish,  and  disclosing  their  reasons,  that  a 

ground."  Possession,  with  Indians,  is  the  only  evidence  of  title. 
Their  country  and  individual  possessions,  always  defined  by  natural 
objects,  belongs  to  the  next,  when  once  the  first  occupant  has  aban- 
doned it.  The  tradition  of  their  origin,  reaching  to  a  period  long 
anterior  to  the  time  when  other  tribes  settled  on  their  borders, 
proves  them  to  have  been  the  first  proprietors  of  the  soil :  the  coun- 
try was  never  abandoned  by  them :  being  the  most  warlike  and  pow- 
erful, it  could  never  have  been  wrested  from  them  by  conquest :  the 
conclusion  follows,  that  they  were  evidently  the  rightful  owners,  and 
that  other  tribes,  as  they  allege,  acquired  a  residence  only  through 
their  permission  and  indulgence.  If,  however,  power,  the  legitimate 
rule  and  national  law  in  modern  times,  had  been  made  the  appeal  be- 
tween a  government  strong  as  the  United  States,  and  such  inconsider- 
able Indian  hordes,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  manner  the 
difference  might  have  been  settled :  yet  the  administration,  rather 
than  leave  themselves  open  even  to  suspicion,  preferred  and  obtained 
the  title  of  these  people  at  an  expense  of  at  least  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  ~Let  other  nations,  if  they  can,  produce  an 
act,  which,  for  justice  and  liberality,  can  be  compared  with  this. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  209 

reservation  to  himself  —  colonel  Hawkins,  and  May- 
field,  who  being  made  a  prisoner  in  his  youth,  had  al- 
ways resided  in  the  nation,  might  be  assented  to  ;  antj 
requested  it  to  be  forwarded  on  and  made  known  to  the 
government.  Jackson  consented  to  do  so,  and  to  recom- 
mend its  adoption  ;  but  that  the  reservation  they  had 
thought  proper  to  request,  if  assented  to,  he  would 
accept  of  on  no  other  terms  than  that  their  father  the 
president  should  dispose  of  it,  and  apply  the  proceeds 
to  those  of  the  nation  on  whom  distress  and  poverty 
had  been  brought  by  the  war.  Mr.  Madison  subse- 
quently brought  this  matter  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  in  recommending  its 
adoption,  highly  complimented  the  delicacy  with  which 
the  proposition  had  been  met  by  general  Jackson  :  it 
was,  however,  never  acted  on  and  assented  to  by  the 
Senate. 


Every  attention  had  been  given,  during  the 
tiation,  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  savages  -the 
necessity  of  remaining  at  peace  and  in  friendship  with 
the  United  States  ;  for,  although  all  apprehensions  of 
their  acting  in  concert  as  a  nation  had  subsided,  yet  it 
was  important  to  leave  their  minds  favourably  impress- 
ed, lest  the  wandering  fugitives,  scattered  in  consider- 
able numbers  towards  the  Escambia  and  Pensacola, 
might,  by  continuing  hostile,  associate  with  them  others 
of  their  countrymen,  —  attach  themselves  to  the  British, 
should  they  appear  in  the  south,  aid  them  by  their 
numbers,  and  pilot  them  through  the  country. 

This  retreat  of  the  savages  in  East  Florida,  had  been 
always  looked  upon  as  a  place  whence  the  United 


210  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

States  might  apprehend  serious  difficulties  to  arise, 
There  was  no  doubt  but  that  the  British,  through  this 
channel,  with  the  aid  of  the  governor,  had  protected 
the  Indians,  and  supplied  them  with  arms  and  ammu* 
nition ;  nor  was  it  less  certain,  but  that  through  the 
art  and  address  practised  on  them,  they  had  been  ex- 
cited to  the  outrages  which  had  been  heretofore  con> 
mitted.  It  was  an  idea  entertained  by  Jackson,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Creek  war,  that  the  proper  and 
best  mode  of  procedure  would  be  to  push  his  army 
through  the  nation  ;  gain  this  den,  where  vegetated  so 
many  evils  ;  arid,  by  holding  it,  effectually  cut  off  their 
intercourse,  and  means  of  encouraging  the  war :  but 
the  unexpected  difficulties  which  we  have  before  no- 
ticed, had  repressed  the  execution  of  his  well-digested 
plans,  and  left  him  to  pursue  his  course  as  circumstan- 
ces, and  the  obstacles  met  with,  would  permit.  The 
assistance  which,  during  the  war,  had  been  continually 
afforded  these  people  from  Pensaeola^  induced  him 
once  more  to  turn  his  attention  there ;  and  he  now 
strongly  urged  on  government  the  propriety  of  attack- 
ing and  breaking  down  this  strong  hold,  whence  so  many 
evils  had  flowed,  and  whence  greater  ones  were  yet 
to  be  expected.  His  busy  mind,  actively  engaged, 
while  employed  in  settling  all  differences  at  Fort  Jack- 
son, had  sought  through  every  channel  that  could  afford 
it,  information  as  to  the  designs  of  the  British  against 
the  southern  parts  of  the  Union.  The  idea  had  been 
prevalent,  and  generally  indulged,  that,  so  soon  as  the 
severity  of  approaching  winter  should  put  a  stop 
to  active  operations  on  the  Canada  frontier,  with  all 
their  disposable  force,  they  would  turn  their  attention 
against  the  southern  states,  and  the.re  attempt  to  gain 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JAGKSO]\%  211 

some  decisive  advantage.  New  Orleans,  with  one  con- 
sent, was  fixed  upon  as  the  point  that  most  probably 
would  be  assailed.  The  circumstance  of  there  being 
so  many  persons  there  who  have  never  been  supposed 
to  entertain  any  well-founded  regard  for  the  country  in 
which  they  lived,  together  with  a  large  black  population, 
which  it  was  feared  might  be  excited  to  insurrection 
and  massacre,  through  the  persuasions  of  an  enemy 
who  seemed  to  disregard  all  the  laws  of  humanity, 
were  reasons  which  strongly  led  to  this  conclusion. 

General  Jackson  having  understood,  that  that  com* 
fort  and  aid  which  heretofore  had  been  so  liberally  ex- 
tended, was  still  afforded  by  the  Spanish  governor  to 
the  hostile  Indians,  who  had  fled  from  the  ravages  of 
the  Creek  war,  cherished  the  belief  that  his  conduct 
was  such  as  deservedly  to  exclude  him  from  that  pro- 
tection to  which,  under  other  circumstances,  he  would 
be  entitled,  from  the  professed  neutrality  of  Spain.  At 
all  events,  if  the  improper  acts  of  the  Spanish  agents 
would  not  authorize  the  American  government  openly 
to  redress  herself  for  the  unprovoked  injuries  she  had 
received,  they  were  such,  he  believed,  as  would  justify 
any  course  which  had  for  its  object  to  arrest  their  con- 
tinuance and  give  safety  to  the  country.  In  this  point 
of  view  he  had  already  considered  it,  when  on  his  way 
to  the  treaty  at  Fort  Jackson,  he  received  certain  in- 
formation, that  about  three  hundred  English  troops  had 
landed;  were  fortifying  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Apalachicola ;  and  were  endeavouring  to  excite  the  In- 
dians to  war.  No  time  was  lost  in  giving  the  government 
notice  of  what  was  passing,  and  of  the  course,  by  him, 
deemed  most  advisable  to  be  pursued  The  advauta- 


212  LIFE  Or  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

ges  to  be  secured  from  the  possession  of  PenSacola  he 
had  frequently  urged.  Whether  it  was  that  the  govern- 
ment beheld  things  in  a  point  of  view  different  from 
himself,  or  that  being  at  peace  with  Spain,  was  dis- 
posed to  encounter  partial  inconveniences,  rather  than 
add  her  to  the  number  of  our  enemies,  no  order  to  that 
effect  was  yet  given.  In  detailing  to  the  secretary  of 
war  the  information  that  had  been  communicated  to 
him,  he  remarks :  "If  the  hostile  Creeks  have  taken 
refuge  in  Florida,  and  are  there  fed,  clothed,  and  pro- 
tected ;  if  the  British  have  landed  a  large  force,  muni- 
tions of  war,  and  are  fortifying  and  stirring  up  the 
savages ;  will  you  only  say  to  me,  raise  a  few  hundred 
militia,  which  can  be  quickly  done,  and  with  such  re- 
gular force  as  can  be  conveniently  collected,  make  a 
descent  upon  Pensacola,  and  reduce  it  ?  If  so,  I  pro- 
mise you  the  war  in  the  south  shall  have  a  speedy 
termination,  and  English  influence  be  forever  destroy- 
ed with  the  savages  in  this  quarter." 

Notwithstanding  this  and  other  information  commu- 
nicated to  the  government,  yet,  to  his  repeated  and 
pressing  applications,  he  was  unable  to  obtain  any  an- 
swer :  nothing  was  returned  that  could  be  construed 
into-  either  a  permission  of,  or  command  to  abstain 
from  the  execution  of  his  project.  At  length,  on  the 
17th  of  January,  1815,  after  the  British  army  had  been 
repulsed  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  descent  on  Florida 
almost  forgotten,  through  the  post  office  department, 
dated  at  Washington  City,  the  18th  of  July,  1814,  he 
received  the  following  letter  from  general  Armstrong, 
then  secretary  at  war : 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.- 

*  The  case  you  put  is  a  very  strong  one :  and  if  all 
the  circumstances  stated  by  you  unite,  the  conclusion 
is  irresistible.  It  becomes  our  duty  to  carry  our  arms 
where  we  find  our  enemies.  It  is  believed,  and  I  am 
so  directed  by  the  president  to  say,  that  there  is  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  government,  not 
to  break  with  the  United  States,  nor  to  encourage  any 
conduct  on  the  part  of  her  subordinate  agents  having 
a  tendency  to  such  rupture.  We  must,  therefore,  in 
this  case,  be  careful  to  ascertain  facts,  and  even  to 
distinguish  what,  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties, may  be  the  effect  of  menace  and  compulsion,  or 
of  their  choice  and  policy :  the  result  of  this  inquiry 
must  govern.  If  they  admit,  feed,  arm,  and  co-operate 
with  the  British  and  hostile  Indians,  we  must  strike  on 
the  broad  principle  of  self-preservation : — under  other 
and  different  circumstances,  we  must  forbear." 

That  the  state  of  things,  here  suggested  by  the 
secretary,  did  actually  exist;  that  the  British  were 
favourably  received,  and  every  assistance  necessary  to 
a  continuance  of  hostilities  extended  to  the  Indians, 
the  government  had  been  already  apprised,  by  the 
frequent  communications  made  to  them  on  the  subject. 
The  facts  were  too  well  ascertained  for  any  reason* 
able  doubt  to  attach.  To  determine  then  upon  a  pro- 
per eourse,  no  postulata  were  necessary,  or  should 
have  been  required  by  the  government.  Had  this 
letter  reached  him  in  time,  it  would  at  once  have  $e* 
termined  general  Jackson  in  the  course  to  be  purstied, 
and  on  the  execution  of  his  design ;  how  it  was  so 
long  delayed,  we  know  not,  nor  shall  we  pretend  to 
conjecture ;  for  on  such  a  subject,  conjecture  alone 


214  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

could  be  indulged.  We  would,  however,  recommend 
in  all  cases,  where  a  measure  is  to  be  proceeded  in^ 
either  from  necessity,  or  a  well-founded  apprehension 
of  jts  propriety,  that  the  government  should  adopt  it 
without  fear  or  trembling,  and  from  no  regard  to  the 
consequences  involved;  nor  leave  to  be  determined 
by  the  success  or  failure  of  the  design,  whether  an 
officer  acting  upon  his  own  responsibility,  and  for  the 
good  of  his  country,  shall  become  the  subject  of  com- 
mendation or  reproof. 

"  If,"  remarked  the  general,  speaking  of  this  trans* 
action,  "this  letter,  or  any  hint  that  such  a  course 
would  have  been  even  winked  at  by  the  government, 
had  been  received,  it  would  have  been  in  my  power  to 
have  captured  the  British  shipping  in  the  bay.  I 
would  have  marched  at  once  against  Barrancas,  and 
carried  it,  and  thus  prevented  any  escape ;  but,  act- 
ing on  my  own  responsibility  against  a  neutral 
power,  it  became  essential  for  me  to  proceed  with 
more  caution  than  my  judgment  or  wishes  approved, 
and  consequently  important  advantages  were  lost, 
which  might  have  been  secured."  The  delay  of  the 
letter  is  inexplicable  and  strange.  Did  general  Arm- 
strong detain  it  ?  He  could  not,  because  his  efficiency 
of  character  and  decision  stand  in  opposition  to  the 
idea ;  and,  besides,  after  the  burning  of  Washington,  in 
August  1814,  he  ceased  to  have  any  agency  in  the 
affairs  of  the  government.  It  is  a  circumstance  which, 
during  this  time,  could  not  have  remained  under  the 
control  of  accident :  it  must  have  been  the  effect  of 
management  somewhere,  and  of  a  design  intended  for 
some  important  purpose ;  if  any  mishaps  occurred,  and 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  215 

a  question  arose  where  responsibility  should  rest,  the 
absence  of  authority  would  readily  affix  it  on  Jackson. 
If  our  cause  had  proven  disastrous  at  New  Orleans, 
it  would  have  been  an  easy  and  plausible  matter  to 
have  ascribed  it  to  the  time  lost  in  waging  operations 
against  a  neutral  and  friendly  power,  without  tlie  sanc- 
tion of  the  government. 

On  arriving  at  Fort  Jackson,  his  first  attention  had 
been  directed  to  a  subject  which  he  believed  to  be  of 
greater  importance  than  making  Indian  treaties — to 
establish  a  plan  by  which  to  be  constantly  advised, 
during  his  stay,  of  those  schemes  that  were  in  agita- 
tion in  the  south :  believing  that  every  passing  event 
might  be  readily  obtained  through  the  Indians,  who 
could  go  among  the  British  without  in  the  least  ex- 
citing suspicion,  he  had  required  colonel  Hawkins  to 
procure  some  who  were  confidential,  and  might  be 
certainly  relied  on,  to  proceed  to  the  Apalachicola, 
and  towards  the  coast,  and  to  return  as  early  as  they 
could  obtain  correct  information  of  the  strength,  views, 
and  situation  of  the  enemy.  In  about  fifteen  days  they 
came  back,  confirming  the  statement  previously  re- 
ceived, that  a  considerable  English  force  had  arrived, 
and  was  then  in  the  bay  of  St.  Rose;  that  muskets  and 
ammunition  had  been  given  to  the  Indians,  and  run-  ' 
ners  despatched  to  the  different  tribes  to  invite  them 
to  the  coast. 

Satisfied  that  such  permissions,  by  a  neutral  power, 
were  too  grievous  to  be  borne,  he  immediately  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  governor  of  Pensacola,  appris- 
ing him  of  the  information  received;  and  enquiring 


216  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

why  and  wherefore  it  happened  that  every  protection 
and  assistance  was  furnished  the  enemies  of  the 
United  States,  within  his  territory ;  requested  him  to 
state  whether  or  not  the  facts  were  as  they  had  been 
represented;  and  demanded  to  have  surrendered  to 
him  such  of  the  chiefs  of  the  hostile  Indians  as  were 
with  him.  "  I  rely,"  continued  he,  "  on  the  existing 
friendship  of  Spain,  her  treaties  and  that  neutrality 
ivhich  she  should  observe,  as  authority  for  the  de- 
mand I  make."  The  governor's  answer,  which  shortly 
afterwards  was  received,  evinced  nothing  of  a  con- 
ciliatory temper,  and  left  no  hope  of  procuring  any 
other  redress  than  that  which  might  be  obtained 
through  some  different  channel.  It  was  a  subject,  how- 
ever, which  required  to  be  managed  with  considerable 
caution.  Spain  and  the  United  States  were  in  amity 
and  at  peace;  to  reduce  any  portion  of  her  territory, 
and  take  possession  of  it,  in  exclusion  of  her  authority, 
might  be  construed  such  an  aggression,  as  to  induce 
her  into  the  war.  On  the  other  hand,  for  her,  with 
open  arms,  to  receive  our  enemies,  and  permit  them 
to  make  every  preparation  within  her  ports,  for  in- 
vading and  attacking  our  country,  were  outrages  too 
monstrous  to  be  borne,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  Jackson, 
required  to  be  remedied,  let  the  consequences  in  pro- 
spective be  what  they  might.  Although  these  things 
had  been  earnestly  pressed  upon  the  consideration  of 
the  war  department,  no  answer  to  his  repeated  solici- 
tations on  the  subject  had  been  received.  On  his  pwn 
responsibility,  to  advance  to  the  execution  of  a  mea- 
sure, which  involved  so  much,  when  his  government 
was,  and  had  for  some  time  been,  in  possession  of  all 
the  circumstances,  was  risking  too  much.  Yet,  were 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  217 

it  delayed  longer,  every  day  might  give  to  Pensacola 
additional  strength,  and  increase  the  danger  attendant 
on  its  reduction.  Undetermined,  under  considerations 
like  these,  he  resolved  upon  another  expedient — to 
despatch  a  messenger,  to  lay  open  to  the  governor  the 
ground  of  his  complaint — obtain  from  him  a  declara- 
tion of  his  intention,  as  regarded  the  course  he  meant 
to  adopt,  and  pursue — and  ascertain  whether  he  de- 
signed to  make  subsisting  treaties  between  the  two 
nations  the  basis  of  his  conduct,  or  to  pursue  a  strange 
and  concealed  course,  which,  under  the  garb  of  pre- 
tended friendship,  cloaked  all  the  realities  of  war.  The 
propriety  of  delivering  up  the  hostile  Indians,  who 
were  with  him,  to  atone  for  the  violation  of  existing 
treaties,  and  the  rights  of  humanity,  and  the  murders 
they  had  committed,  was  again  pressed  and  solicited. 

A  reply  was  not  concluded  on  by  the  governor  for 
some  time,  owing  to  a  very  considerable  doubt  that 
harassed  his  mind,  whether  it  would  not  be  more  pro- 
per to  return  it  without  an  answer,  "in  imitation  of 
the  conduct  of  general  Flournoy,  who,  acting  in  con- 
formity to  the  orders  of  Mr.  Madison,  heretofore  had 
omitted  to  answer  a  despatch  of  his."  But  having  con* 
sidered  the  matter  quite  maturely  and  deliberately,  he 
at  length  came  to  the  conclusion,  to  wave  the  exam- 
ple set  him  by  the  president,  and  in  replying  to,  act  in 
obedience  to  those  "  high  and  generous  feelings  pecu- 
liar to  the  Spanish  character." 

In  answer  to  the  demand  made  upon  him,  that  the 
hostile  Indians  should  be  delivered  up,  he  denied  that 
they  were  with  him,  "  at  that  time,"  or  that  he  could, 

2E 


218  LIFE  OF  GENEItAL  JACKSON; 

on  the  ground  of  hospitality,  refuse  them  assistance^ 
at  a  moment  when  their  distresses  were  so  great ;  nor 
could  he  surrender  them,  as  he  believed,  without  act- 
ing in  open  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations, — laws,  to 
which  his  sovereign  had  ever  strictly  adhered,  and  of 
which  he  had  already  afforded  the  United  States  abun- 
dant evidence,  in  omitting  to  demand  of  them  "  the 
traitors,  insurgents,  incendiaries,  and  assassins  of  his 
chiefs^  namely,  Guiterres,  Toledo,  and  many  others, 
whom  the  American  government  protected  and  main- 
tained in  committing  hostilities,  in  fomenting  the  revo- 
lution, and  in  lighting  up  the  flames  of  discord  in  the 
internal  provinces  of  the  kingdom  of  Mexico." 

To  the  inquiry,  why  the  English  had  been  suffered 
to  land  in  his  province  arms  and  ammunition,  with  a 
view  to  encouraging  the  Indians  in  their  acts  of  hos- 
tility* he  proceeded  with  his  same  "  national  charac- 
teristic," and  demanded  to  be  informed  if  the  United 
States  were  ignorant,  that  at  the  conquest  of  Florida, 
there  was  a  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Creek  Indians,  and  whether  they  did  not  know,  that  it 
still*existed  between  Spain  and  those  tribes  ?  "  But," 
continued  he,  "  turn  your  eyes  to  the  island  of  Barra- 
taria,  and  you  will  there  perceive,  that  within  the  very 
territory  of  the  United  States,  pirates  are  sheltered 
and  protected,  with  the  manifest  design  of  committing 
hostilities  by  sea,  upon  the  merchant  vessels  of  Spain ; 
and  with  such  scandalous  notoriety,  that  the  cargoes 
of  our  vessels,  taken  by  them,  have  been  publicly  sold 
in  Louisiana." 

It  is  difficult  to  discover  how,  or  by  what  system  of 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  219 

logic  it  was,  that  governor  Manrequez  was  enabled  to 
trace  any  kind  of  analogy  between  the  United  States 
affording  to  a  few  of  the  patriots  of  South  America 
an  asylum  from  the  oppressions  and  persecutions  that 
were  threatened  to  be  imposed  on  them  by  Spanish  ty- 
ranny, and  his  permitting  within  the  limits  of  Florida, 
comfort,  aid,  and  assistance  to  be  given  the  savages,  that 
they  might  the  better  be  enabled  to  indulge  in  cruelty 
towards  us.  Nor  can  it  be  perceived  how  it  was,  that 
the  piracies  of  Lafite  and  his  party  at  Barrataria,  and 
the  successful  smuggling  which  brought  their  plunder- 
ed wealth  into  port,  in  open  defiance  of  our  laws,  could 
operate  as  a  sufficient  pretext  for  giving  protection 
and  indulgence  to  an  enemy  entering  the  territory  of 
Spain,  and  continuing  there,  with  the  avowed  inten- 
tion of  waging  war  against  a  power  with  which  she 
not  only  professed  to  be  in  friendship,  but  was  bound 
by  treaty  to  be  so,  and  at  the  very  time  too,  when  she 
claimed  to  be  neutral.  Nor  can  we  see  the  force  of 
the  argument,  because  England  had  a  treaty  with  the>; 
Creek  Indians,  which  afterwards  devolved  on  Spain-, 
that  the  agents  of  his  Catholic  majesty  were  in  conse- 
quence, justified  in  protecting  the  savages  in  their 
murders,  or  assisting  covertly,  as  they  did,  in  the  war 
against  us :  how  the  conclusions  were  arrived  at,  the 
governor  can  decide  at  some  moment,  when  reliev*- 
ed  from  those  high  and  honourable  feelings,  "  pecu- 
liar to  the  Spanish  character,"  reason  may  re-assert 
her  empiry  over  him,  and  point  the  manner  he  was  en* 
abled  to  produce  his  strange  results. 

The  governor,  however,  had  evidenced  rather  too 
high  a  state  of  feeling,  and  taken  his  ground  without 


220  ttFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

suffering  his  reflections  to  go  to  their  full  extent.  He 
had  placed  arms  in  the  hands  of  the  savages,  "  for  the 
purposes  of  self-defence  ;"  many  of  them  were  hasten- 
ing to  him, — more  were  yet  expected.  The  British 
had  already  landed  a  partial  force,  and  a  greater  one 
was  shortly  looked  for.  Against  this  certain  and  ex- 
pected strength,  added  to  what  his  own  resources 
could  supply,  he  believed  an  American  general  would 
not  venture  to  advance.  These  considerations  had  led 
him  to  assume  a  proud  and  lofty  tone, — to  arraign  the 
conduct  of  the  United  States,  in  extinguishing  the  In- 
dian title  on  the  Alabama, — to  accuse  them  of  disre- 
garding and  violating  their  treaties,  and  to  point  out 
the  danger  to  which  the  restoration  of  peace  in  Europe 
might  shortly  expose  them.  As  yet  he  was  ignorant 
of  the  energy  of  the  man  already  near  his  borders,  and 
who,  to  march  against  and  break  down  his  fancied  se- 
curity, did  not  desire  to  be  ordered,  but  only  to  be  ap- 
prised by  his  country  that  it  might  be  done.  Jackson, 
in  no  wise  pleased  with  the  boldness  of  his  remarks, 
proceeded  again  to  address  him,  and  exhibited  fully 
the  grounds  of  accusation  and  complaint  in  behalf  of 
his  country,  and  in  a  style  at  least  as  courtly  as  his  own. 

"  Where  I  clothed,"  he  remarks,  "  with  diplomatic 
powers,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  topics  em- 
braced in  the  wide  range  of  injuries  of  which  you  com- 
plain, and  which  have  long  since  been  adjusted,  I  could 
easily  demonstrate  that  the  United  States  have  been 
always  faithful  to  their  treaties,  steadfast  in  their  friend- 
ships, nor  have  ever  claimed  any  thing  that  was  not 
warranted  by  justice.  They  have  endured  many  in- 
sults from  the  governors  and  other  officers  of  Spain? 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  221 

which,  if  sanctioned  by  their  sovereign,  would  have 
amounted  to  acts  of  hostility,  without  any  previous 
declaration  on  the  subject.  They  have  excited  the 
savages  to  war,  and  afforded  them  the  means  of  waging 
it :  the  property  of  our  citizens  has  been  captured  at 
sea,  and  if  compensation  has  not  been  refused,  it  has 
at  least  been  withheld.  But  as  no  such  powers  have 
been  delegated  to  me,  I  shall  not  assume  them,  but 
leave  them  to  the  representatives  of  our  respective 
governments. 

"  I  have  the  honour  of  being  entrusted  with  the  com- 
mand of  this  district.  Charged  with  its  protection, 
and  the  safety  of  its  citizens,  I  feel  my  ability  to  dis- 
charge the  task,  and  trust  your  excellency  will  always 
find  me  ready  and  willing  to  go  forward,  in  the  perform- 
ance of  that  duty,  whenever  circumstances  shall  ren- 
der it  necessary.  I  agree  with  you,  perfectly,  that 
candour  and  polite  language  should,  at  all  times,  cha- 
racterize the  communications  between  the  officers  of 
friendly  sovereignties ;  and  I  assert,  without  the  fear 
of  contradiction,  that  my  former  letters  were  couched 
in  terms  the  most  respectful  and  unexceptionable.  I 
only  requested,  and  did  not  demand,  as  you  have  as- 
serted, that  the  ringleaders  of  the  Creek  confederacy 
might  be  delivered  to  me,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  your 
town,  and  who  had  violated  all  laws,  moral,  civil,  and 
divine.  This  I  had  a  right  to  do,  from  the  treaty 
whjch  I  sent  you,  and  which  I  now  again  enclose,  with 
a  request  that  you  will  change  your  translation ;  be- 
lieving, as  I  do,  that  your  former  one  was  wrong,  and 
has  deceived  you.  What  kind  of  an  answer  you  re- 
turned, a  reference  to  your  letter  will  explain.  The 


222  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

whole  of  it  breathed  nothing  but  hostility,  grounded 
upon  assumed  facts,  and  false  charges,  and  entirely 
evading  the  inquiries  that  had  been  made. 

"  I  can  but  express  my  astonishment  at  your  pro- 
test against  the  cession  on  the  Alabama,  lying  within 
the  acknowledged  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and  which  has  been  ratified  in  due  form,  by  the 
principal  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  nation.  But  my 
astonishment  subsides,  when,  on  comparison,  I  find  it 
upon  a  par  with  the  rest  of  your  letter  and  conduct ; 
taken  together,  they  afford  a  sufficient  justification  for 
any  course  on  my  part  or  consequences  that  may  en- 
sue to  yourself.  My  government  will  protect  every 
inch  of  her  territory,  her  citizens  and  their  property, 
from  insult  and  depredation,  regardless  of  the  politi- 
cal revolutions  of  Europe ;  and  although  she  has  been 
at  all  times  sedulous  to  preserve  a  good  understanding 
with  all  the  world,  yet  she  has  sacred  rights,  that  can- 
not be  trampled  upon  with  impunity.  Spain  had  bet- 
ter look  to  her  own  intestine  commotions,  before  she 
walks  forth  in  that  majesty  of  strength  and  power, 
which  you  threaten  to  draw  down  upon  the  United 
States. 

"  Your  excellency  has  been  candid  enough  to  admit 
your  having  supplied  the  Indians  with  arms.  In  ad- 
dition Jto  this,  I  have  learned  that  a  British  flag  has 
been  seen  flying  on  one  of  your  forts.  All  this  is  done 
whilst  you  are  pretending  to  be  neutral.  You  cannot 
be  surprised,  then,  but  on  the  contrary  will  provide  a 
fort  in  your  town  for  my  soldiers  and  Indians,  should 
I  take  it  in  my  head  to  pay  you  a  visit. 


LTFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  223 

"  In  future,  I  beg  you  to  withhold  your  insulting 
charges  against  my  government  for  one  more  inclined 
to  listen  to  slander  than  I  am ;  nor  consider  me  any 
more  as  a  diplomatic  character,  unless  so  proclaimed 
to  you  from  the  mouths  of  my  cannon." 

Captain  Gordon,  who  had  been  despatched  to  Pen- 
sacola,  had  been  enabled,  during  the  time  he  remained 
there,  to  obtain  much  more  full  and  satisfactory  infor- 
mation than  it  had  pleased  the  governor  to  communi- 
cate. Appearances  completely  developed  the  schemes 
which  were  in  agitation,  and  convinced  him  that  active 
operations  were  intended  shortly  to  be  commenced 
somewhere  in  the  lower  country.  On  his  return,  he 
reported  to  the  general  that  he  had  seen  from  one  hun-  , 
dred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  officers  and  soldiers,  a  ^ 
park  of  artillery,  and  about  five  hundred  Indians,  under 
the  drill  of  British  officers,  armed  with  new  muskets, 
and  dressed  in  the  English  uniform. 

Jackson  directly  brought  to  the  view  of  the  govern- 
ment the  information  he  had  received,  and  again  urged 
his  favourite  scheme,  the  reduction  of  Pensacola. 
"How  long,"  he  observed,  "will  the  United  States 
pocket  the  reproach  and  open  insults  of  Spain  ?  It  is 
alone  by  a  manly  and  dignified  course,  that  we  can 
secure  respect  from  other  nations,  and  peace  to  our 
own.  Temporizing  policy  is  not  only  a  disgrace,  but 
a  curse  to  any  nation.  It  is  a  fact  that  a  British  cap- 
tain of  marines  is  and  has  for  some  time  past  been  en- 
gaged in  drilling  and  organizing  the  fugitive  Creeks, 
under  the  eye  of  the  governor ;  endeavouring,  by  his 
influence  and  presents,  to  draw  to  his  standard  as  well 


224  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSOJT, 

the  peaceable  as  the  hostile  Indians.  If  permission 
had  been  given  me  to  march  against  this  place  twenty 
days  ago,  I  would,  ere  this,  have  planted  there  the 
American  Eagle;  now,  we  must  trust  alone  to  our 
valour,  and  to  the  justice  of  our  cause.  But  my  pre- 
sent resources  are  so  limited — a  sickly  climate  as  well 
35  an  enemy  to  contend  with,  and  without  the  means 
of  transportation  to  change  the  position  of  my  army, 
that,  resting  on  the  bravery  of  my  little  phalanx,  I  can 
only  hope  for  success." 

Many  difficulties -were  presented;  and,  although 
anxious  to  carry  into  execution  a  purpose  which 
seemed  so  strongly  warranted  by  necessity,  he  saw 
that  he  was  wholly  without  the  power  of  moving,  even 
should  he  be  directed  to  do  so.  Acting  in  a  remote 
corner  of  the  union,  which  was  detached  and  thinly  in- 
habited, the  credit  of  his  government  was  inadequate 
to  procure  those  things  necessary  and  essential  to  his 
operations ;  while  the  poverty  of  his  quarter-master's 
department  presented  but  a  dreary  prospect  for  re- 
liance. But  to  have  all  things  in  a  state  of  readiness 
for  action,  when  the  time  should  arrive  to  authorize  it, 
he  was  directing  his  attention  in  the  way  most  likely 
to  effect  it.  The  warriors  of  the  different  tribes  of 
Indians  were  ordered  to  be  marshalled,  and  taken  into 
the  pay  of  the  government.  He  addressed  himself  to 
the  governors  of  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi territory,  and  pressed  them  to  be  vigilant  in 
the  "discharge  of  their  duties.  Information,  he  said, 
had  reached  him,  which  rendered  it  necessary  that  all 
the  forces  allotted  for  the  defence  of  the  seventh  mili- 
tary district,  should  be  held  in  a  state  of  perfect  rea- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  225 

diriess,  to  march  at  any  notice,  and  to  any  point  they 
might  be  required.  "  Dark  and  heavy  clouds  hover 
around  us.  The  energy  and  patriotism  of  the  citizens 
of  your  states  must  dispel  them.  Our  rights,  our  liber- 
ties, and  free  constitution,  are  threatened.  This  noble 
patrimony  of  our  fathers  must  be  defended  with  th§ 
best  blood  of  our  country :  to  do  this,  you  must  hasten 
to  carry  into  effect  the  requisition  of  the  secretary  of 
war,  and  call  forth  your  troops,  without  delay." 

On  the  day  after  completing  his  business  at  Fort 
Jackson,  he  had  departed  for  Mobile,  to  place  the 
country  in  a  proper  state  of  defence.  The  third  regi- 
ment, a  part  of  the  forty-fourth  and  thirty-ninth,  con- 
stituted entirely  the  regular  forces  he  could  at  this 
time  command.  Many  reasons  concurred  to  render  it 
necessary  that  a  sufficient  force  should  be  brought  into 
the  field  as  early  as  possible.  His  appeals  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Tennessee  had  been  generally  crowned  with 
success ;  and  he  had  no  doubt  but  that  he  might  yet 
obtain  from  them  such  assistance  as  would  enable  him, 
should  any  unexpected  emergency  arise,  to  act  at  least 
defensively,  until  the  states  already  applied  to  should 
have  their  quotas  ready  for  the  field.  On  the  citizens 
of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  he  believed  he  might  se- 
curely rely,  and  that  their  ardour  would  readily  excite 
them  to  contend  with  an  enemy  at  their  very  doors. 
Well  knowing  the  delay  incident  to  bringing  militia 
requisitions  expeditiously  forth,  and  fearing  that  some 
circumstance  might  arise  to  jeopardize  the  safety  of 
the  country,  before  the  constituted  authorities  could 
act,  he  had  already  despatched  his  adjutant-general, 
colonel  Butler,  to  Tennessee,  with  orders  to  raise  vo- 

2F 


226  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

lunteers,  and  have  them  in  readiness  to  advance  to  his 
relief,  whenever  it  should  be  required. 

Every  day's  intelligence  tended  to  confirm  the  Be- 
lief that  a  descent  would  be  made, — most  probably  on 
New  Orleans.  Anonymous  letters,  secretly  forwarded 
from  Pensacola,  and  which  found  their  way  into  the 
American  camp,  suggested  this  as  the  point  of  assault; 
and  many  of  the  settlers  were  apprised  by  their  friends, 
of  the  fears  entertained  for  their  safety,  and  entreated 
to  retire  from  the  gathering  storm,  which,  it  was  feared, 
WQuld  soon  burst  and  entirely  involve  the  lower  coun-? 
try  in  wo  and  ruin.  Where  certainly  to  expect  attack, 
was  as  yet  unknown.  The  part  of  the  country  bor- 
dering on  Mobile  might  be  assailed ;  yet,  taking  in- 
to consideration  that  no  very  immediate  or  decided 
advantages  could  be  obtained  there,  it  was  an  event 
not  much  to  be  apprehended.  The  necessity,  howev-? 
£r,  of  being  prepared  at  all  points,  so  far  as  the  means 
of  defence  could  be  procured,  was  at  once  obvious ; 
for,  as  the  general,  in  one  of  his  letters  remarked, 
"  there  was  no  telling  where  or  when  the  spoiler  might 


come." 


There  were  now  too  many  reasons  to  expect  an 
early  visit,  and  too  many  causes  to  apprehend  danger, 
not  to  desire  that  an  efficient  force  might  be  within 
convenient  distance.  Colonel  Butler  was  accordingly 
written  to,  and  ordered  to  hasten  forward  with  the 
volunteers  he  could  procure,  and  to  join  him  with-* 
out  delay.  The  order  reached  him  at  Nashville,  on 
the  9th  of  September,  and  he  forthwith  engaged  ac-, 
tively  in  its  execution.  He  directly  applied  to  genet 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  227 

ral  Coffee,  to  advance  with  the  mounted  troops  he  could 
collect.  A  general  order  was  at  the  same  time  issued, 
bringing  to  view  the  dangers  that  threatened,  and  so- 
liciting those  who  were  disposed  to  aid  in  protecting 
their  country  from  invasion,  to  unite  with  him  at  Fay- 
etteville,  by  the  28th  instant.  The  appeal  was  not  in- 
effectual :  although  the  scene  of  operation  was  at  least 
four  hundred  miles  from  the  point  of  rendezvous,  the 
call  was  promptly  obeyed  ;  and  two  thousand  able-bo- 
died men,  well  supplied  with  rifles  andmtiskets,  appear- 
ed at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  to  march  with  the 
brave  general  Coffee,  who  had  so  often  led  his  troops 
to  victory  and  honour.  Colonel  Butler,  with  his  usual 
activity  and  industry,  hastened  to  meet  and  press  for- 
ward the  militia  under  the  command  of  colonel  Lowe- 
ry,  which  had  been  heretofore  required  for  garrison- 
ing the  posts  in  the  Indian  country ;  whilst  captains 
Baker  and  Butler,  with  the  regular  forces  lately  enlist- 
ed, advanced  from  Nashville  to  Mobile,  where  they 
arrived  in  fourteen  days.  By  proper  exertions  every 
thing  was  presently  in  complete  readiness ;  and  the 
troops  collected  for  the  campaign,  in  high  spirits,  set 
out  for  the  point  to  which  danger,  duty,  and  their  coun- 
try called  them. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Colonel  Nicholls  arrives  at  Pensacola  and  issues  a  proclamation  to  the 
southern  inhabitants. — Attack  on  Fort  Bowyer^  and  loss  of  the  Her- 
mes.— Jackson  determines  to  reduce  Pensacola. — Demands  of  the  gov- 
ernor an  explanation  of  his  conduct ;  his  answer. — Enters  and  takes 
possession  of  Pensacola. — -Conduct  and  perfidy  of  the  governor. — De- 
struction by  the  British  of  Barrancas  Fort. — Our  troops  return  to  Mo- 
bile.— Expedition  against  the  Indians. — General  Winchester  arrives, 
and  Jackson  proceeds  to  take  command  of  New  Orleans. 

• 

WHETHER  a  force  were  thus  concentrating  to  act  de- 
fensively against  an  invading  enemy,  or  were  intended 
to  attack  and  reduce  the  rallying  point  of  the  Indians 
and  British  in  the  Spanish  territory,  whence  they  had 
it  in  their  power  to  make  sudden  inroads  on  any  part  of 
our  coast,  as  yet  all  was  conjecture.  It  was  a  trait  in 
Jackson's  character,  to  lock  closely  in  his  bosom  all 
his  determinations :  it  was  only  to  a  few,  on  whom  he 
reposed  with  unlimited  confidence,  that  the  least  inti- 
mation was  at  any  time  given  of  his  intentions.  The 
idea  could  scarcely  be  entertained,  that  at  this  time 
any  hostility  was  meditated  against  Pensacola.  The 
frequent  applications  he  had  made  to  the  war  depart- 
ment, to  be  indulged  in  the  execution  of  this  purpose, 
without  having  obtained  any  directions  or  permission 
to  do  so,  had  placed  a  veto  on  the  project,  unless  he 
should  venture  to  assume  and  risk  it  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility. 

It  was  impossible  he  should  remain  long  in  doubtr 
as  to  the  course  best  calculated  to  assure  defence,  or 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  229 

to  the  ulterior  objects  of  the  enemy.  Colonel  Nicholls, 
with  a  small  squadron  of  his  Britannic  majesty's  ships, 
had  arrived  the  latter  part  of  August,  and  taken  up 
his  head-quarters  with  governor  Manrequez.  He  was 
an  Irishman,  sent  in  advance  by  his  royal  master  to 
sow  dissentions  among  our  people,  and  to  draw  around 
his  standard  the  malcontents  and  traitors  of  the  coun- 
try. His  proclamation,  issued  to  the  western  and 
southern  inhabitants,  full  of  well-turned  periods,  false 
statements,  and  high  sounding  promises,  it  was  hoped 
would  lead  them  to  a  belief,  that  the  government  un- 
der which  they  lived  was  forging  for  them  chains ; 
that,  not  to  redress  any  injuries  of  its  own,  but  through 
the  mere  dictum  of  the  French  emperor,  it  had  de- 
clared war  against  a  power,  the  freest,  the  happiest, 
the  most  moral  and  religious  on  earth.  He  stated, 
that  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  force  amply  sufficient  to 
reinstate  them  in  those  liberties  and  enjoyments  of 
which  they  had  been  bereaved,  by  the  designs  of  "  a 
contemptible  few."  That  such  as  were  disposed  to 
imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  countrymen, 
might  not  quietly  rest,  doubting  of  the  assurances 
proffered  them,  he  concluded  by  tendering,  as  security 
for  all  he  had  said  and  promised,  "  the  sacred  honour 
of  a  British  officer."*  Perhaps  he  could  have  vouch- 
safed nothing  that  the  American  people  would  not 
have  sooner  relied  on :  it  was  a  pledge  in  which  past 
experience  told  them  they  could  not  in  safety  confide. 
To  them  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  a  country 

*  See  note  A,  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  where  will  be  found  this 
most  extraordinary  production  of  a  British  officer  who  acted,  no 
wider  instructions  received  from  his  government 


230  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

from  which  they  had  learned  all  they  had  ever  known 
or  felt  of  oppression,  should  come  to  make  them  freer 
than  they  were ;  or  that,  groaning  themselves  under  a 
load  of  taxes,  from  which  there  was  scarcely  a  hope 
of  being  ever  relieved,  they  should  come,  with  such 
apparent  compassion,  and  great  benevolence,  to  take 
away  the  burdens  of  those  whom  they  despised,  and 
on  whom,  for  forty  years,  they  had  heaped  nothing 
but  contumely  and  reproach.  Where  it  was  this  agent 
of  Britain  learned,  that  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  complained  of  burdens,  heavily  and  unjustly 
imposed,  we  know  not ;  satisfied,  however,  are  we,  that 
it  was  a  murmur  never  breathed  by  the  people  at  large. 
They  had  encountered  privations,  and  borne  the  "  brunt 
of  war ;"  yet  felt  no  solicitude  that  it  should  cease, 
until  the  assailed  honour  and  independence  of  their 
country  should  be  secured  on  a  basis  firmer  than  be- 
fore. 

He  had  waited  about  two  weeks,  that  his  proclama- 
tion might  take  effectual  hold,  and  prepare  the  inhabi- 
tants to  open  their  bosoms  to  receive  him,  when  this 
delivering  hero,  aided  by  his  Indian  and  Spanish  allies, 
set  out,  to  ascertain  the  effect  it  had  wrought.  His 
first  visit  was  to  Fort  Bowyer,  situated  on  the  extreme 
end  of  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  about  eighteen  miles 
below  the  head  of  Mobile  bay,  and  which  commanded 
the  entrance.  With  the  loss  of  one  of  his  ships,  and 
an  eye,  he  had  the  mortification  to  learn,  that  he  had 
been  addressing  an  incorrigible  race,  who  could  be 
neither  duped,  flattered,  nor  forced  into  submission. 

Fort  Bowver  had  been  heretofore  abandoned  ;  and, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  231 

until  the  arrival  of  general  Jackson  in  this  section  of 
the  country,  was  indeed  ill  calculated  for  serious  re- 
sistance. On  perceiving  its  importance,  he  immedi- 
ately caused  it  to  be  placed  in  the  best  possible  state 
of  defence.  So  effectual  was  its  situation  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  as  commanding  the  passes  of  those  riv- 
ers which  discharged  themselves  into  the  bay,  and 
which  opened  directly  to  the  Indian  country,  that  it 
was  with  him  a  matter  of  surprise  it  had  not  been  more 
regarded  by  the  United  States,  and  even  better  attend- 
ed to  by  our  enemies* 

Major  Lawrence  had  the  honour  to  command  this 
spot,  the  gallant  defence  of  which  has  given  it  cele- 
brity, and  raised  him  to  an  elevated  stand  in  the  esti- 
mation of  his  country.  That  at  Pensacola,  plans  of 
operation  were  digesting,  which  had  for  their  object  an 
invasion  of  our  coast  somewhere,  was  a  fact  to  which 
Lawrence  was  not  a  stranger.  A  disposition  to  have 
his  little  fortress  in  such  a  state  of  readiness,  as  would 
place  it  in  his  power,  should  that  be  their  object,  to 
make  a  successful  and  brave  defence,  had  prompted 
him  to  the  most  vigorous  exertions.  His  whole  strength 
was  but  one  hundred  and  thirty  men.  By  this  Spar- 
tan band  was  evinced  a  confidence  in  each  other,  and 
an  unshaken  resolution,  which  left  their  brave  comman- 
der no  room  to  apprehend  dishonour  to  his  flag,  even 
should  defeat  result. 

The  12th  of  September  determined  all  doubt  of  the 
object  which  the  British  had  in  view.  The  sentinels 
brought  intelligence  that  a  considerable  force,  consist- 
ing of  Indians,  marines,  and  Spaniards,  had  landed ; 


232  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  the  same  day  two  brigs  and  sloops  hove  in  sight 
of  the  fort,  and  anchored  not  far  distant. 

The  next  day  a  demonstration  was  made  by  those 
who  had  been  landed,  to  bring  on  the  attack ;  but  a 
fire  from  the  fort  forced  them  from  their  position,  and 
compelled  them  to  retire  about  two  miles ;  whence,  at- 
tempting to  throw  up  fortifications,  they  were  again 
made  to  retreat. 

* 

For  a  few  days  nothing  definitive  took  place.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  signals  passing  from 
the  ships  to  the  shore,  led  Lawrence  to  believe  an  as- 
sault was  intended,  and  would  shortly  be  made.  At 
half  after  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  every  thing  be- 
ing arranged,  the  Hermes,  in  the  van,  commanded  by 
sir  W.  H.  Percy,  and  the  other  vessels  close  in  the 
rear,  anchored  within  musket  shot  fire  of  the  fort. 
From  her  near  position,  supported  by  the  Caron,  and 
brigs  Sophia  and  Anaconda,  mounting  in  all  ninety 
guns,  she  opened  a  broadside.  Colonel  Nich oils  and 
captain  Woodbine  at  the  head  of  their  detachment, 
commenced  a  simultaneous  attack  by  land,  with  a 
twelve  pound  howitzer,  at  point  blank  distance  ;  but, 
from  their  sand  bank  fortifications  they  were  so  quick- 
ly driven  as  to  be  unable  to  produce  the  slightest  in- 
jury. 

The  action  raged  with  considerable  violence.  From 
the  fort  and  ships  was  pouring  a  continual  fire.  The 
Hermes  having  at  length  received  a  shot  through  her 
cable,  was  driven  from  her  anchorage  and  floated  with 
the  stream.  In  this  situation  she  was  thrown  into  a 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON,  233 

position,  where,  for  twenty  minutes,  she  received  a  se* 
verely  raking  fire,  which  did  her  considerable  damage. 
In  her  disabled  condition  it  was  no  longer  possible  to 
controul  her,  whence,  drifting  with  the  current,  she 
ran  upon  a  sand  bank  about  seven  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant, where,  until  late  at  night,  she  remained  exposed 
to  the  guns  of  the  fort.  Her  commander,  finding  it 
impracticable  to  be  relieved,  set  her  on  fire,  and  aban- 
doned her.  She  continued  burning  until  eleven  o'clock, 
when  she  blew  up.  The  Caron,  next  in  advance  to 
the  Hermes,  was  considerably  injured,  and  with  diffi* 
culty  went  out  to  sea. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  to  show  the  difference  in 
battle,  between  the  two  combatants,  to  mark  the  con* 
duct  of  British  and  American  officers,  under  circum- 
stances precisely  similar.  Whilst  the  battle  raged, 
the  flag  of  the  van  ship  was  carried  away,  and  at  this 
moment  she  had  ceased  to  fire.  What  had  caused  its 
disappearance,  none  could  tell :  no  other  opinion  was, 
or  could  with  propriety  be  entertained,  than  that  it 
had  been  hauled  down,  with  a  view  to  yield  the  con- 
test, and  surrender.  Influenced  by  this  belief,  Law- 
rence, with  a  generosity  characteristic  of  our  officers, 
immediately  desisted  from  further  firing.  The  appear- 
ance of  a  new  flag,  and  a  broadside  from  the  ship  next 
the  Hermes,  was  the  first  intelligence  received  that 
such  was  not  the  fact;  and  the  contest  again  raged 
with  renewed  violence.  It  was  but  a  few  minutes, 
however,  before  the  flag  staff  of  the  fort  was  also  car- 
ried away :  but  so  far  from  pursuing  the  same  gene- 
rous course  that  had  just  been  witnessed,  the  zeal  of 
the  enemy  was  increased,  and  the  assault  more  fu- 


234  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

riously  urged.  At  this  moment,  Nicholls  and  Woodbine, 
at  the  head  of  their  embattled  train,  perceiving  what 
had  happened,  that  our  "  starrspangled  banner"  had 
sunk,  at  once  presuming  all  danger  to  have  subsided, 
made  a  most  courageous  sally  from  their  strong  hold ; 
and,  pushing  towards  their  vanquished  foes,  were  al- 
ready calculating  on  a  rich  harvest  of  blood  and  plun- 
der :  but  a  well-directed  fire  checked  their  progress, 
dissipated  their  expectations,  and  drove  them  back, 
with  a  rapidity  even  surpassing  the  celerity  of  their 
advance. 

Taking  into  consideration,  the  inequality  of  force; 
employed  on  opposite  sides  of  this  contest,  it  will  ap- 
pear a  matter  of  surprise,  that  the  attack  should  have 
terminated  in  the  way  it  did ; — that  it  was  not  attend- 
ed with  success  to  our  enemy.  This  circumstance 
would  be  a  sufficient  evidence  of  the  bravery  and  cor- 
rect conduct  of  its  gallant  defenders,  where  there  a 
total  absence  of  all  other  facts ;  but  their  belief,  that 
the  best  way  to  avoid  disaster  was  to  be  in  a  state  of 
readiness  to  meet  it,  and  a  constant  assiduity,  which 
urged  them  forward,  day  and  night,  that  they  might 
be  in  a  situation  calculated  for  successful  defence,  are 
facts  remembered,  and  entitle  them  to  the  highest  com- 
mendation. From  the  bay,  the  attack  was  waged  with 
)a  force  of  six  hundred  men,  and  ninety  guns,  of  larger 
caliber  than  any  opposed  to  them ;  whilst  upwards  of 
four  hundred  Indians  and  other  troops  were  on  the 
) shore,  in  rear  of  the  fort  Lawrence's  strength  was 
Scarcely  a  tenth  of  the  enemy's.  His  fort,  hastily  pre- 
ared for  defence,  with  not  more  than  twenty  guns, 
ill  calculated  for  stubborn  resistance;  most  of 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  235 

these  were  of  small  caliber,  whilst  many,  from  being 
badly  mounted,  were  capable  of  rendering  no  essential 
service  in  the  action :  yet,  with  this  great  inequality, 
he  well  maintained  the  honour  of  his  flag,  and  com- 
pelled the  enemy,  resting  in  full  confidence  of  success, 
to  retire,  with  the  loss  of  their  best  ship,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  men  killed  and  wounded;  whilst  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  Americans  did  not  exceed  ten. 

Very  different  were  the  feelings  of  the  leaders 
of  this  expedition,  from  what  had  been  entertained 
on  setting  out  from  Pensacola,  where  every  thing 
had  been  prepared  for  giving  success  to  their  plans, 
and  where  scarcely  a  doubt  was  entertained  of  the. 
result  Numerous  benefits  were  expected  to  arise 
from  a  victory,  not  in  expectancy,  but  already  looked 
to  as  certain — as  an  event  that  could  not  fail.  From 
it,  greater  facility  would  be  given  to  their  operations ; 
while  Mobile,  it  was  expected,  would  fall,  of  course. 
This  being  effected,  independent  of  the  strong  hold 
already  possessed  in  Florida,  an  additional  advantage 
would  be  acquired,  calculated  to  prevent  all  inter- 
course with  New  Orleans,  from  this  section  of  the 
country,  enable  them  more  easily  to  procure  supplies, 
and,  having  obtained  their  expected  reinforcements, 
piloted  and  aided  by  the  Indians,  to  proceed  across  to 
the  Mississippi,  and  cut  off  all  communication  with  the 
western  states.  To  render  the  blow  effectual,  was  im- 
portant ;  that,  by  impressing  at  once  the  inhabitants 
with  an  idea  of  their  strength,  and  prowess,  the  pro- 
clamations already  disseminated  might  claim  a  stronger 
influence  on  doubting  minds.  The  force  employed, 
and  its  disposition,  was  calculated  to  attain  these 


236  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

wished  for  results.  While  the  attack  should  be  fu- 
riously waged  by  the  ships  from  the  bay,  and  the  forces 
on  the  shore*  the  yells  of  three  or  four  hundred  sa- 
yages  in  the  rear^  it  was  calculated  would  strike  the 
defenders  of  this  fort  with  such  panic,  as  to  make 
them,  at  the  first  onset,  throw  down  their  arms,  and 
clamour  for  mercy,  This  belief  was  so  sanguinely 
indulged,  that  obstinate  resistance  had  never  been 
thought  of.  Different  was  the  reality — instead  of  tri- 
umph, they  had  met  defeat  The  only  badges  of  vic- 
tory they  could  present  their  friends,  with  whom,  but 
a  few  days  before,  with  flattering  promises  they  had 
parted,  were  shattered  hulks,  that  could  scarcely  keep 
above  the  water,  and  decks  covered  with  the  dead 
and  wounded. 

The  three  vessels  that  retired  from  the  contest 
were  considerably  injured,  and  with  difficulty  pro- 
ceeded to  sea,  leaving  Nicholls  and  Woodbine,  with 
their  friends  and  allies,  on  the  shore,  to  make  good 
their  retreat,  as  danger  and  discretion  should  permit. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  Jackson,  fearing,  from 
every  thing  he  had  learned,  that  an  attack  would  be 
made,  had  set  out  in  a  boat  from  Mobile,  to  visit  Fort 
Bowyer,  examine  its  situation,  and  have  such  arrange- 
ments made  as  would  add  to  its  strength,  and  obtain 
that  security  which  its  re-establishment  had  been  de- 
signed to  effect  He  had  proceeded  down  the  bay, 
and  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  the  place,  when  he 
met  an  express  from  Lawrence,  bringing  intelligence 
of  the  enemy's  arrival,  and  requesting  that  assistance 
might  be  immediately  sent  to  his  relief.  The  general 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSO&  23? 


hastened  back,  and  reaching  Mobile  late  at  night, 
spatched  a  brig,  with  eighty  men,  under  the  command 
of  captain  Laval.  Not  being  able  to  reach  his  point  of 
destination,  until  the  next  day,  and  finding  every 
place  of  entrance  blocked  up  by  the  besiegers,  he  ran 
his  brig  to  the  land,  determined  to  remain  there  until 
night,  when,  under  cover  of  its  darkness,  he  hoped  to 
succeed  in  throwing  into  the  fort  himself  and  the  re- 
inforcement under  his  command.  The  battle,  how- 
ever, having  in  the  mean  time  commenced,  presented 
new  difficulties,  and  restrained  the  execution  of  his 
purpose,  unless  he  should  venture  to  encounter  greater 
hazard  than  prudence  seemed  to  sanction.  The  Her- 
mes, on  being  driven  from  her  anchorage,  had,  at  the 
time  of  her  explosion,  floated  and  grounded  in  a  direo 
tion,  which,  from  the  position  she  occupied,  placed 
her  immediately  in  rear  of  the  Fort.  This  circum- 
stance well  accounted  for  the  mistake  with  which  he 
was  impressed,  and  led  captain  Laval  to  suppose  that 
tyis  brave  countrymen  had  all  perished.  Believing 
they  would  now  attempt  to  carry  his  vessel,  he  set 
sail  for  Mobile,  and  reported  to  the  commanding  ge- 
neral the  destruction  and  loss  that  had  happened. 
Jackson  declared  it  was  impossible;  that  he  had  heard 
the  explosion,  and  was  convinced  it  was  on  the  water, 
and  not  on  the  shore.  Perhaps  his  great  anxiety, 
more  than  any  reality,  had  constituted  this  refined  and 
essential  difference  in  sound.  If,  however,  the  disas- 
ter communicated  were  as  it  was  reported,  his  own 
situation  being  thereby  rendered  precarious,  some- 
thing was  necessary  to  be  done  to  repair  the  loss,  and 
regain  a  place,  for  many  reasons  too  important  to  be 
yielded,  His  principal  fears  were,  lest  the  strength 


238  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

of  the  enemy  should  be  greatly  increased,  before  his 
expected  reinforcements  could  arrive,  who  would  be 
thereby  enabled  to  extend  his  inroads,  and  paralyze 
the  zeal  of  the  country.  It  was  not  a  time  for  much 
deliberation  as  to  the  course  most  advisable  to  be  pur- 
sued. He  determined  at  all  hazard  to  retake  the  fort ; 
and  to  that  end  a  general  order  was  issued  for  the 
departure  of  the  troops.  Every  thing  was  nearly  in 
readiness,  when  a  despatch  arrived  from  Lawrence, 
proclaiming  the  pleasing  intelligence,  that  all  was 
safe,  and  that  the  enemy,  beaten  and  vanquished,  had 
retired. 

The  conduct  displayed  by  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  this  garrison,  is  worthy  to  be  remembered.  With 
troops  wholly  undisciplined,  and  against  an  enemy  ten 
times  more  numerous  than  themselves,  so  coolly  and 
fearlessly  contending,  is  a  circumstance  so  flattering 
that  we  cannot  wish  our  country  better,  than  that  the 
future  defenders  of  her  honour,  and  violated  rights, 
may  be  as  sensibly  alive  to  their  dutyrand  act  with  a 
like  determined  bravery. 

The  British  had  now  retired  to  Pensacola,  to  dis- 
pose of  their  wounded,  refit  their  vessels,  and  be  ready, 
as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit,  to  make,  per- 
haps, another  descent,  on  some  less  guarded  point.  So 
long  as  this,  their  only  place  of  refuge  and  retreat  on 
the  southern  coast,  was  left  in  their  possession,  it  was 
impossible  to  calculate  on  the  consequences  that  might 
arise.  The  commanding  general  entertained  a  suspi- 
cion that  this  was  merely  a  feint,  and  that  the  object 
of  their  wishes  and  designs,  so  soon  as  a  sufficient  force 


UFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  239 

should  arrive,  would  be  New  Orleans.  At  this  place, 
he  believed  his  presence  most  material,  to  ascertain 
and  guard  the  important  passes  to  the  city,  and  to  con- 
cert some  system  and  plan  of  general  defence.  His 
feelings,  however,  would  not  permit  him  to  depart,  and 
leave  the  settlements  on  the  Mobile  open  to  an  attack, 
from  forces  immediately  in  the  neighbourhood,  which 
might  reduce  them,  and  thereby  gain  a  position 
whence  they  might  obtain  supplies,  and  be  placed 
nearer  the  ultimate  point,  against  which,  most  proba- 
bly, their  views  were  intended  to  be  directed.  His 
regret  was  indeed  great,  that  time  after  time,  without 
the  least  success,  he  had  urged  and  entreated  his  go- 
vernment for  permission  to  take  possession  of  a  place 
where  so  many  dangers  threatened,  and  where  every 
assistance  and  encouragement  was  afforded  the  Bri- 
tish ;  and  that  regret  was  increased,  now,  when  he  saw 
the  very  evils  engendering  and  springing  into  exist- 
ence, to  which  he  had  so  often  endeavoured  to  draw 
their  attention,  and  which  were  jeopardizing  the  safe* 
ty  of  the  whole  lower  country.  To  him  the  defence 
of  this  district  had  been  entrusted  :  it  was  incumbent 
on  him  to  render  a  just  account  of  his  stewardship, 
and  zealously  to  support  his  well-earned  reputation. 
Unless  Pensacola  were  reduced,  it  was  vain  to  think 
of  defending  the  country:  it  would  be  involved  in 
ruin, — himself  in  disgrace.  Anxiously  concerned  for 
the  general  good,  he  could  discern  no  channel  through 
which  safety  was  to  be  effected,  than  by  hazarding,  on 
his  own  responsibility,  the  reduction  of  this  place, — a 
rendezvous  for  the  enemy. 

Jackson  and  his  government  had  ever  viewed  this 


240  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

subject  iii  very  different  lights :  they  were  not  willing 
to  risk  any  act  which  might  involve  the  possibility  of 
a  contest  with  Spain,  for  the  sake  of  removing  what 
they  considered  an  unimportant  grievance  :  he  thought 
it  of  more  serious  import,  and  did  not  believe  it  could 
afford  even  a  pretext  for  rupture  between  the  two  na- 
tions. If  Spain,  through  her  agents,  gave  assistance 
and  aid  to  our  enemy,  or  permitted  and  encouraged  a 
power  with  whom  she  was  at  peace  to  be  thus  harass- 
ed and  annoyed,  she  deserved  to  be  placed  herself,  on 
the  list  of  enemies,  and  treated  accordingly.  If,  how- 
ever,  Great  Britain,  taking  advantage  of  the  defence- 
less state  of  her  province,  claimed  to  have  free  egress, 
in  exclusion  of  her  authority,  she  could  have  no  well- 
founded  cause  of  complaint  against  the  injured  power, 
which  should  claim  to  hold  it,  until  such  time  as,  by 
bringing  a  sufficient  force,  she  might  be  in  a  situation 
to  support  her  neutrality,  and  enforce  obedience  to 
her  laws.  Upon  either  ground,  he  believed  it  might 
be  sufficiently  justified.  There  was  one,  however,  on 
which  it  could  be  placed,  where  he  well  knew  nothing 
could  result,  beyond  his  own  injury ;  and  on  this  issue 
he  was  willing  to  trust  it.  If  any  complaint  should  be 
made,  his  government,  having  never  extended  to  him 
any  authority,  might,  with  propriety,  disavow  the  act ; 
and,  by  exposing  him  to  censure  and  punishment, 
would  offer  an  atonement  for  the  outrage,  and  Spain, 
in  justice,  could  demand  no  more.  The  attack  on  Mor 
bile  point  was  a  confirmation  of  his  previous  conjec- 
tures, as  to  the  views  of  the  enemy ;  and,  from  that 
moment  he  determined  to  advance  against  and  rer 
duce  Pensacola,  throw  a  sufficient  force  in  the  Bar- 
rapcas,  hold  them  until  the  principles  of  right 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  241 

neutrality  were  better  respected,  and  rest  the  measure 
on  his  own  responsibility.  Believing  this  the  only 
course  calculated  to  assure  ultimate  security,  he  de- 
cided with  firmness,  and  resolved  to  execute  his  in- 
tentions so  soon  as  general  Coffee  should  arrive,  with 
the  volunteers,  from  Tennessee. 

It  was  now  rumoured,  and  generally  accredited,  that 
a  very  considerable  force  would  shortly  sail  from  En- 
gland, destined  to  act  against  some  part  of  the  United 
States ;  where,  none  knew,  or  could  tell ;  rumour,  and 
public  opinion,  fixed  its  destination  for  New  Orleans. 
The  importance  of  this  place  was  well  known  to  our 
enemy ;  it  was  the  key  to  the  entire  commerce  of  the 
western  country.  Had  a  descent  been  made  on  it  a 
few  months  before,  it  might  have  been  taken  with  all 
imaginable  ease ;  but  the  British  had  confidently  in- 
dulged the  belief,  that  they  could  possess  it  at  any 
time,  without  much  difficulty.  England  and  France 
having  ended  their  long-pending  controversy,  it  was 
presumed  that  the  French  people  of  Louisiana,  sensi- 
bly alive  to  the  great  benefits  the  English  had  con- 
ferred upon  their  native  country, — benefits  that  pros- 
trated her  liberty,  and  which  have  sunk  her,  perhaps, 
in  eternal  slavery,  would,  on  their  first  appearance, 
hail  their  deliverers,  and  at  once  become  their  vas- 
sals. Independent  of  this,  they  imagined  the  black 
population  would  afford  them  the  means  of  exciting 
insurrection  and  massacre,  and  deluging  the  country 
in  blood.  Whether  a  resort  to  this  kind  of  warfare, 
which  involves  the  deepest  wretchedness,  and  equally 
exposes  to  ruin  the  innocent  as  the  guilty, — the  fe- 
male as  the  soldier, — should  be  sanctioned  by  a  nation 


242  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

professing  a  high  sense  of  moral  feeling ;  or  whether 
a  nation  that  adopts  such  a  system,  merits  countenance 
from  the  civilized  world,  are  questions  on  which  we 
should  not  fear  the  decision  even  of  an  Englishman, 
could  he  but  divest  himself  of  that  animosity  and  ha- 
tred, which,  from  infancy,  he  learns  to  entertain  for 
the  Americans.  To  this,  and  many  other  acts  equally 
in  violation  of  the  rules  that  should  govern  honour- 
able warfare,  may  be  traced  the  cause  of  those  deep- 
rooted  inveteracies  in  the  breasts  of  our  citizens,  to- 
wards those  of  England,  which  time,  and  a  different 
course  of  conduct,  can  alone  remove.  Why  such  hos- 
tility has  been  practised  towards  us,  it  is  difficult  to 
determine;  unless  the  crime  of  the  revolution,  if  it 
were  one,  to  rise  in  opposition  to  the  oppression  and 
despotism  under  which  we  then  groaned,  has  disposed 
them  to  visit  the  sins  of  the  father  upon  the  child, 
with  a  determination  they  shall  never  be  forgiven  or 
forgotten.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  United  States  have 
received  a  greater  number  of  insults  and  injuries  from 
this  power,  than  from  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to- 
gether; the  hoary  locks  of  a  father,  torn  on  by  the 
merciless  Indian, — the  innocent,  helpless  female,  bleed- 
ing by  savage  torture, — and  the  unoffending  babe, 
dragged  from  the  beating  bosom  of  its  mother,  and 
butchered  in  her  sight,  are  cruelties  that  can  be  traced 
to  British  influence :  yet  these  people  and  ourselves 
are  descended  from  the  same  fathers — speak  the  same 
language — are  governed  by  the  same  laws — and  are 
similar  in  manners  and  customs.  But  to  inquire  into 
the  causes  of  national  feeling,  belongs  not  to  the  his- 
torian ;  it  is  his  duty  only  to  detail  facts.  The  w?r  is 
over ;  peace  is  restored ;  and  the  two  nations,  and  their 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  243 

citizens,  by  a  mutual  respect,  and  forbearance  towards 
each  other,  should  endeavour  to  promote  that  friend- 
ship and  intercourse,  which  it  is  evidently  the  interest 
of  both  to  preserve,  and  which,  we  hope,  may  be  last- 
ing. 

The  expected  reinforcements  were  now  announced. 
General  Coffee,  with  his  brigade,  had  arrived  and  halt- 
ed at  the  cut  off,  not  far  from  Fort  St.  Stephens,  on  the 
Mobile  river.  In  addition  to  the  force  with  which  he 
commenced  his  march,  he  had  been  strengthened  by 
the  arrival  of  others,  who  had  followed  and  overtaken 
him  at  this  place ;  so  that  his  whole  number  was  now 
about  twenty-eight  hundred.  To  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  an  immediate  march,  general  Jack- 
son, on  the  26th  day  of  October,  repaired  to  Coffee's 
camp.  A  dependence  on  himself  to  further  the  ob- 
jects of  the  government  and  the  cause  of  the  country, 
had  been  his  constant  lot  from  the  commencement  of 
his  military  career ;  and  a  similar  resort  or  failure  to 
the  enterprise,  was  now  to  be  assayed.  Money  was 
wanted — the  quarter-masters  were  destitute  of  funds, 
and  the  government  credit  was  insufficient  to  procure 
the  necessary  means  to  change  the  position  of  an  ar- 
my: thus  situated,  with  his  own  limited  funds,  and 
loans  effected  on  his  credit  and  responsibility,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  his  plans  into  effect,  and  in  hasten- 
ing his  army  to  the  place  of  its  destination. 

The  difficulty  of  subsisting  cavalry  on  the  route, 
rendered  it  necessary  that  part  of  the  brigade  should 
proceed  on  foot.  Although  they  had  volunteered  in 
the  service  as  mounted  men,  and  expected  that  no 


244  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

ferent  disposition  would  be  made  of  them,  yet  they 
cheerfully  acquiesced  in  the  order :  and  one  thousand 
abandoning  their  horses  to  subsist  as  they  could  on 
the  reeds  that  grew  along  the  river  bottoms,  prepared  to 
commence  the  march.  Being  supplied  with  rations  for 
the  trip,  on  the  2d  day  of  November  the  line  of  march 
was  taken  up,  and  Pensacola  was  reached  on  the  6th. 
The  British  and  Spaniards  had  obtained  intelligence 
of  their  approach  and  intended  attack;  and  every 
thing  was  in  readiness  to  dispute  their  passage  to  the 
town.  The  forts  were  garrisoned,  and  prepared  for 
resistance ;  batteries  formed  in  the  principal  streets  ; 
and  the  British  vessels  moored  within  the  bay,  and  so 
disposed  as  to  command  the  main  entrances  which  led 
into  Pensacola. 

The  American  army,  consisting  of  the  greater  part 
of  Coffee's  brigade,  the  regulars,  and  a  few  Indians,  in 
all  about  three  thousand  men,  had  arrived  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  this  rallying  point  for  our  enemies,  and 
formed  their  encampment.  Before  any  final  step  was 
taken,  the  general  concluded  to  make  a  further  appli- 
cation to  the  governor,  and  to  learn  of  him  what  course 
at  the  present  moment  he  would  make  it  necessary 
for  him  to  pursue.  To  take  possession  of  Pensacola, 
and  dislodge  the  British,  was  indispensable  :  to  do  it 
Under  such  circumstances,  however,  as  should  impress 
the  minds  of  the  Spaniards  with  a  conviction,  that  the 
invasion  of  their  territory  was  a  measure  resorted  to 
from  necessity,  not  choice,  and  from  no  disposition  to 
infringe  or  violate  their  neutral  rights,  was  believed  to 
be  essential.  It  was  rendered  the  more  so,  on  the 
part  of  Jackson,  because  a  measure  of  his  own  and  not 


(-  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  245 

sanctioned  or  directed  by  his  government.  Previous- 
ly, therefore,  to  having  recourse  to  any  act  of  open 
war,  he  determined  once  more  to  try  the  effect  of  ne- 
gotiation, that  he  might  ascertain  certainly  and  cor- 
rectly how  far  the  governor  felt  disposed  to  preserve 
a  good  understanding  between  the  two  governments,  j 

Major  Piere,  of  the  forty-fourth  regiment,  was  ac- 
cordingly despatched  with  a  flag,  to  disclose  the  ob- 
jects intended  to  be  attained  by  the  visit,  and  to  re- 
quire that  the  different  forts,  Barrancas,  St.  Rose,  and 
St.  Michael,  should  be  immediately  surrendered,  to 
be  garrisoned  and  held  by  the  United  States,  until 
Spain,  by  furnishing  a  sufficient  force,  might  be  able  to 
protect  the  province  and  preserve  unimpaired  her  neu- 
tral character.  He  was  charged  by  the  general  with 
a  candid  and  explicit  statement  of  his  views,  and  in- 
structed to  require  of  the  governor  a  decisive  and  po- 
sitive declaration  of  the  course  he  intended  to  pursue. 

This  mission  experienced  no  very  favourable  result 
Major  Piere,  on  approaching  St.  Michael's,  was  fired 
on  and  compelled  to  return.  Whether  this  were  done 
by  the  Spaniards  themselves,  or  by  their  allies  and 
friends  who  were  sojourning  with  them,  was  not  a  ma- 
terial inquiry.  The  Spanish  flag  was  displayed  on  the 
fort,  and  under  it  the  outrage  was  committed :  though 
it  was  a  fact  well  ascertained,  that  until  the  day  before 
the  British  flag  had  been  also  associated :  this,  on  the 
arrival  of  Jackson,  had  been  removed,  and  the  colours 
of  Spain  left,  which  were  designed  to  afford  protec- 
tion to  our  enemies,  and  a  pretext  for  every  injury. 
This  conduct,  so  unexpected  and  unprovoked,  and 


246  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

withal  so  directly  in  opposition  to  the  principles  and 
practice  of  civilized  warfare,  might  have  well  determin- 
ed the  general  to  abstain  from  further  forbearance,  and 
to  proceed  immediately  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
views :  but  a  consciousness,  that  although  the  reduc- 
tion of  this  place  was  required  by  circumstances  of  the 
highest  necessity,  yet  fearing  it  might  be  blazoned 
around  to  his  prejudice,  and  particularly  that  it  might 
become  a  cause  of  national  difficulty,  he  was  prompt- 
ed to  act  with  every  possible  deliberation  and  caution. 
A  sense  of  humanity,  too,  towards  these  people,  who, 
he  was  satisfied,  were  acting  not  from  any  choice  or 
discretion  of  their  own,  but  by  the  authority  of  the 
British,  induced  a  wish  that  the  objects  of  his  visit 
might  be  effected  without  any  material  injury  to  them. 
Determining,  therefore,  to  understand  the  governor 
fully,  previously  to  proceeding  to  extremities,  he  again 
despatched  a  letter  to  him,  not  by  any  of  his  officers, 
for  after  such  perfidy  he  was  unwilling,  and  felt  it  un- 
safe to  risk  them,  but  by  a  Spanish  corporal,  who  had 
been  taken  on  the  route  the  day  before.  By  him,  it 
was  required  to  be  known,  why  the  former  application 
which  had  been  made,  instead  of  being  met  with  a  be- 
coming spirit  of  conciliation,  had  been  insulted.  In 
answer,  he  received  from  the  governor  a  confirmation 
of  the  opinion  he  had  previously  entertained,  that  what 
had  been  done  was  not  properly  chargeable  on  him. 
but  the  English ;  that  he  had  no  agency  in  the  trans- 
action of  which  he  complained,  and  assured  him  of  his 
perfect  willingness  to  receive  any  overtures  he  might 
be  pleased  to  make.  This  was  joyful  tidings ;  and  no 
time  was  to  be  lost  in  meeting  the  offer.  If  negotia- 
tion should  place  in  his  hands  the  different  fortresses, 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  247 

before  information  of  it  could  be  had  by  the  British 
shipping  lying  in  the  bay,  the  outward  channel  would 
be  effectually  stopped,  and  the  means  of  their  escape 
entirely  cut  off.  Major  Piere  was  accordingly  sent  off, 
at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  to  detail  to  the  governor  the 
reasons  which  had  rendered  the  present  descent  pro- 
per ;  and  to  insist  on  the  conditions  already  noticed,  as 
alone  calculated  to  assure  safety  to  the  United  States, 
and  give  protection  to  the  provinces  of  Florida.  He 
was  particularly  instructed  to  impress  on  his  consi- 
deration the  most  friendly  sentiments,  and  to  assure 
him  that  a  re-surrender  would  be  made  so  soon  as 
Spain,  by  the  arrival  of  a  sufficient  force,  could  protect 
her  territory  from  the  inroads  of  a  power  at  war  with 
the  United  States ;  and  which,  through  an  opening  thus 
afforded  to  a  violation  of  the  neutrality  of  Spain,  was 
enabled,  and  had  already  done  her  considerable  injury. 
In  his  communication  to  the  governor,  he  remarks, "  I 
come  not  as  the  enemy  of  Spain ;  not  to  make  war, 
but  to  ask  for  peace ;  to  demand  security  for  my  coun- 
try, and  that  respect  to  which  she  is  entitled  and  must 
receive.  My  force  is  sufficient,  and  my  determi- 
nation taken,  to  prevent  a  future  repetition  of  the 
injuries  she  has  received.  I  demand,  therefore,  the 
possession  of  the  Barrancas,  and  other  fortifications, 
with  all  your  munitions  of  war.  If  delivered  peace- 
ably, the  whole  will  be  receipted  for  and  become  the 
subject  of  future  arrangement  by  our  respective  go- 
vernments ;  while  the  property,  laws,  and  religion  of 
your  citizens  shall  be  respected.  But  if  taken  by  an 
appeal  to  arms,  let  the  blood  of  your  subjects  be  upon 
your  own  head.  I  will  not  hold  myself  responsible 
for  the  conduct  of  my  enraged  soldiers.  One  hour  is 


248  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

given  you  for  deliberation,  when  your  determination 

must  be  had." 

f 

The  council  was  called,  and  the  propositions  made, 
considered,  when  the  conclusion  was  taken  that  they 
could  not  be  acceded  to.  As  soon  as  the  answer  w^as 
received,  showing  that  nothing  peaceably  could  be  ef- 
fected, Jackson  resolved  to  urge  his  army  forward; 
and,  immediately  commencing  his  march,  proceeded 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  object,  -determined  to 
effect  it,  in  despite  of  danger,  and  of  consequences. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the  army  was  in 
motion.  To  foster  the  idea,  that  he  would  march  and 
reach  the  town  along  the  road,  on  which  he  was  en- 
camped, a  detachment  of  five  hundred  men  was  sent 
forward,  with  orders  to  show  themselves  in  this  direc- 
tion, that  they  might  amuse  and  deceive  the  enemy ; 
while,  urging  rapidly  on,  with  the  strength  of  his  army, 
Tie  was  gaining  Pensacola  at  a  different  and  unexpect- 
ed point.  This  stratagem  succeeded  :  the  British, 
looking  for  his  appearance  where  the  detachment  was 
seen,  had  formed  their  vessels  across  the  bay,  and 
were  waiting  his  approach,  with  their  guns  properly 
bearing :  nor  had  they  an  intimation  to  the  contrary, 
until  our  troops  were  descried  upon  the  beach,  on  the 
east  side,  where  they  were  at  too  great  a  distance  to 
be  annoyed  from  the  flotilla;  and  whence,  pushing  for- 
ward, they  were  presently  in  the  streets,  and  under 
cover  of  the  houses. 

One  company,  from  the  third  regiment  of  infantry, 
with  two  field  pieces,  formed  the  advance,  led  by  cap- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  249 

tain  Laval,  who  fell,  severely  wounded,  while,  at  the 
head  of  his  command,  he  was  charging  a  Spanish  bat- 
tery, formed  in  the  street  The  left  column,  com- 
posed of  the  regular  troops,  the  third,  thirty-ninth,  and 
forty-fourth  regiments,  headed  by  majors  Woodruff 
and  Piere,  formed  the  left,  next  the  bay.  The  dis- 
mounted volunteers  proceeded  down  the  street,  next 
the  regulars:  Coffee's  brigade  next,  on  their  right: 
the  Mississippi  dragoons,  commanded  by  colonel 
Hinds,  and  the  Choctavv  Indians  by  major  Blue,  of  the 
thirty-ninth,  advanced  on  the  extreme  right  of  all. 
Captain  Laval's  party,  although  deprived  of  their 
leader,  moved  forward,  and,  at  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net, took  possession  of  the  battery  in  their  front.  So 
quickly  was  this  effected,  that  the  Spaniards  had  it  in 
their  power  to  make  but  three  fires,  before  they  were 
forced  to  abandon  it.  From  behind  the  houses  and  gar- 
den fences,  were  constant  vollies  of  musketry  discharg- 
ed, until  the  regulars  arriving,  met  the  Spaniards,  and 
drove  them  from  their  positions.  The  governor,  panic 
struck,  trembling  for  the  safety  of  his  city,  and  remem- 
bering the  declaration  of  the  general,  that,  if  driven 
to  extremes,  he  should  not  attempt  to  restrain,  or  hold 
himself  responsible  for  his  enraged  soldiers,  hastened, 
bearing  a  flag  in  his  hand,  to  find  the  commander,  and 
seek  to  stay  the  carnage.  He  was  met  by  colonels 
Williamson  and  Smith,  at  the  head  of  the  dismounted 
troops,  when,  with  faltering  speech,  he  entreated  that 
mercy  might  be  extended,  and  promised  to  consent  to 
whatever  terms  might  be  demanded  of  him. 

General  Jackson  had  stopped  for  a  moment  at  the 
place  where  Laval  had  fallen,  and  was  at  this  time  in 

2i 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON 

the  rear.  Receiving  information  that  an  offer  had 
been  made  by  the  governor,  to  comply  with  every 
demand  heretofore  made  on  him,  he  hastened  to  the 
intendant  house,  and  obtained  a  confirmation  of  what 
had  previously  been  communicated  to  him,  that  the 
town,  arsenals,  and  munitions  of  war,  and  in  fact  what- 
ever was  required,  should  immediately  and  without 
delay  be  surrendered. 

The  British  vessels  remained  in  the  bay ;  with  the 
aid  of  their  boats,  by  which  a  nearer  and  more  conir 
manding  situation  was  obtained,  they  continued  to  fire 
upon  our  troops,  as,  passing  along  the  principal  streets 
and  avenues,  they  could  get  them  in  the  range  of  their 
guns.  Lieutenant  Call,  perceiving  some  of  their  boats 
attempting  to  occupy  a  more  advantageous  position, 
advanced  to  the  beach  with  a  single  piece  of  artillery, 
where,  suddenly  unmasking  himself  from  a  hill,  ex- 
posed, and  uncovered,  he  commenced  a  brisk  and 
well-aimed  fire,  which  drove  them  back  to  a  respect- 
ful distance. 

No  time  was  lost  by  general  Jackson  in  procuring 
what  was  considered  by  him,  of  vital  importance — the 
surrender  of  the  forts.  Although  greater  benefits 
would  have  been  derived,  had  the  success  of  negotia- 
tion placed  them  privately  in  his  hands,  without  its 
being  previously  known  to  his  enemies,  yet  even  now 
their  possession  was  not  to  be  neglected.  Their  oc- 
cupancy was  necessary  still  to  his  own  security — to 
check  any  design  that  might  be  in  agitation.  What 
was  the  force  opposed  to  him ;  at  what  moment  rein- 
forcements might  appear  off  Pensacola,  and  thereby 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON,  251 

give  an  entire  change  to  things,  as  they  at  present 
existed,  were  matters  of  which  no  certain  idea  could 
be  formed.  To  possess  the  Barrancas,  which  lay  four- 
teen miles  to  the  west,  was  a  consideration  of  the  first 
importance;  still,  until  the  town  and  its  fortresses 
were  secured,  it  was  improper  to  withdraw  the  army 
to  so  great  a  distance. 

Notwithstanding  the  assurances  given  by  the  go- 
vernor, that  all  differences  would  be  accommodated, 
and  every  thing  insisted  on  agreed  to,  Fort  St  Michael 
was  still  withheld.  Captain  Dinkins  was  ordered  to 
take  post  on  Mount  St.  Bernard,  form  his  batteries, 
and  reduce  it.  He  was  in  a  situation  to  act,  when  the 
commandant,  colonel  Sotto,  ordered  his  flag  taken 
down,  and  the  fort  to  be  surrendered. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  the  treachery  of  the  Spa- 
niards, and  the  unpardonable  method  they  took  to  in- 
dulge their  rancour  and  spleen.  Previously  to  strik- 
ing his  colours,  the  commandant  at  St.  Michael  had 
asked  permission  to  discharge  his  guns ;  to  this  there 
could  be  no  objection,  and  the  indulgence  was  readily 
extended ;  but,  faithless  and  cowardly,  he  levelled  and 
fired  his  pieces,  charged  with  grape,  at  a  party  of 
dragoons  and  Choctaw  Indians,  who  were  at  a  small 
distance,  which  killed  three  horses  and  wounded  two 
men.  Such  unpardonable  conduct,  independent  of 
other  wrongs  and  injuries  already  noticed,  might  have 
justified  any  treatment;  the  destruction  of  the  gar- 
rison would  not  have  been  an  unmerited  chastisement. 
The  general  was  on  his  way  to  Mount  St.  Bernard, 
where  his  artillery  was  planted,  when  he  received  in- 


252  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

telligence  of  what  had  been  done.  He  determined  no 
longer  to  confide  in  persons  so  faithless,  and  whose  only 
object  seemed  to  deceive,  but  at  once  to  make  the  sword 
the  arbiter  between  them.  His  cannon  were  already 
turned  towards  the  fort,  the  resolution  taken  to  batter 
it  down,  and  carry  it  by  storm,  when  it  was  announced 
by  the  officer  he  had  left  in  command  at  Pensacola, 
that  the  capitulation  had  been  agreed  on,  and  a  sur- 
render would  be  made  in  half  an  hour.  Sensible  of 
the  delicate  situation  in  which  he  was  placed,  and 
desirous  to  spare  the  effusion  of  blood,  he  forbore  to 
obey  that  impulse  their  unwarrantable  conduct  had  so 
justly  excited,  and  forthwith  despatched  captain  Din- 
kins  to  insist  on  an  immediate  delivery ;  at  the  same 
time  giving  him  directions  to  carry  it  by  storm  if  the 
demand  was  not  instantly  complied  with. 

Difficulties  promised  thus  peaceably  to  terminate. 
The  day  was  far  spent,  and  the  general  greatly  indis- 
posed;  until  the  next  morning  therefore,  no  step  could 
be  taken  to  obtain  possession  of  the  Barrancas.  On 
the  credit  of  the  governor's  promises,  made  first  on 
their  entrance  into  the  town,  the  principal  part  of  the 
army  had  been  ordered  a  short  distance  out.  Under- 
standing, at  St.  Bernard,  that  what  had  been  required 
would  be  done,  and  that  no  further  delay  would  be 
met,  the  general  had  set  out  to  the  encampment,  leav- 
ing major  Piere  behind,  with  a  sufficient  force  to  pre- 
serve every  thing  in  safety  and  quietness.  He  was 
-astonished,  early  in  the  morning,  to  learn  that  the  offi- 
cer despatched  to  St.  Michael,  the  preceding  evening, 
Jhad,  on  his  arrival,  been  threatened  to  be  fired  on  by 
-colonel  Sotto :  possession,  however,  was  yielded,  on 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  253 

being  made  to  understand,  that  if  the  fort  were  not 
delivered  instantly,  and  without  further  parley,  it 
would  be  carried  forcibly,  and  the  garrison  put  to  the 
sword.  A  capitulation  was  now  agreed  on :  Pensacola, 
and  the  different  fortresses,  were  to  be  retained,  until 
Spain  could  better  maintain  her  authority  ;  while  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  her  citizens  were  to  be  re- 
garded and  respected. 

Every  thing  was  in  readiness,  on  the  following  day, 
to  march  and  take  possession  of  Barrancas  fort.  The 
faithless  conduct  of  yesterday  had  determined  Jackson 
on  the  execution  of  his  plans  ;  nor  longer  to  confide  in 
Spaniards'  promises ;  but  on  reaching  the  place  to 
carry  it  by  force,  if  it  were  not  immediately  surrender- 
ed. Major  Piere  was  ordered  to  give  the  command 
of  the  city  to  colonel  Hayne,  and  report  himself  at 
camp,  to  accompany  him  on  the  march ;  previously, 
however,  to  retiring,  to  require  of  the  governor  to  exe- 
cute an  authority  to  the  commandant  of  the  fort,  to 
deliver  it;  and,  in  the  event  he  would  not  comply  im- 
mediately, to  arrest  him,  and  every  public  officer,  and 
hold  them  as  prisoners.  The  order  for  its  deliyery 
had  been  signed,  and  the  line  of  march  ready  to  be 
taken  up,  to  advance  and  receive  it,- — peaceably,  if 
the  order  would  effect  it — forcibly,  if  not — when  a 
tremendous  explosion  in  that  direction,  followed  by 
two  others,  in  quick  succession,  excited  the  apprehen- 
sion that  all  was  destroyed.  To  ascertain,  certainly, 
whence  the  noise  had  proceeded,  major  Gales,  a  volun- 
teer aid,  was  despatched,  with  two  hundred  men,  to 
reconnoitre  and  obtain  intelligence.  He  presently 
returned,  and  confirmed  what  had  been  previously 


254  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

apprehended,  that  the  fort  was  blown  up,  and  that 
the  British  shipping  had  retired  from  the  bay. 

Although  the  repairing  this  place  might  be  produc- 
tive of  numerous  advantages,  as  keeping  the  enemy, 
during  the  expected  descent  on  the  lower  country, 
from  having  in  their  possession  a  point  where  they 
might  prepare  their  expeditions,  and  where,  in  de- 
spite of  every  vigilance  that  could  be  used,  they  might 
obtain  ample  supplies ;  yet,  inasmuch  as  the  act  was 
unauthorized  by  his  government,  Jackson  felt  himself 
restrained  from  incurring  any  expense  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  what  had  been  thus  treacherously  de- 
stroyed. Though  disappointed  in  the  object  he  had 
principally  in  view,  he  nevertheless  believed  that  some 
of  the  benefits  intended  and  expected  would  result. 
This  strong  hold,  which  had  so  long  given  protection 
to  the  southern  hostile  savages,  and  where  they  had 
been  excited  to  acts  of  war  and  cruelty,  was  assailed, 
and  the  Indians  taught  that  even  here,  safety  was  not 
to  be  found.  The  valour  and  good  conduct  of  his 
troops  had  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards 
a  respect  for  the  character  of  his  country,  which,  hith- 
erto, they  had  not  entertained  ;  and  the  British,  by  be- 
ing dislodged,  were  prevented  from  maturing  and  set- 
tling those  plans  which  were  to  give  efficacy  to  their 
future  operations  against  the  southern  section  of  the 
Union  :  but,  as  the  means  of  maintaining  and  defending 
it  were  destroyed,  it  was  unnecessary  to  think  of  garri- 
soning and  attempting  to  hold  it.  It  was  accordingly 
concluded  to  re-deliver  all  that  had  been  surrendered, 
and  retire  to  Fort  Montgomery.  Jackson  wras  the 
more  disposed  to  adopt  this  course  from  a  belief  that 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  255 

the  British,  who  had  sailed  out  of  the  bay,  would  pro- 
bably make  their  way  to  Fort  Bowyer,  and,  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  principal  strength  of  the  army  being 
away,  seek  to  aim  a  blow  somewhere  on  the  Mobile. 
An  express  was  immediately  hastened  to  colonel 
Sparks,  who  had  been  left  in  command  at  this  place, 
announcing  what  had  transpired,  suggesting  appre- 
hensions for  his  safety,  and  notifying  him,  in  the  event 
of  an  attack,  to  endeavour  to  parry  the  danger  until 
the  regular  troops,  who  would  be  urged  forward  with 
every  industry,  should  arrive  to  support  him. 

Two  days  after  entering  the  town,  he  abandoned  it 
Previously  to  retiring,  he  wrote  to  governor  Manre- 
quez ;  and,  after  stating  to  him  the  causes  which  had  in- 
duced him,  justifiably,  as  he  believed,  to  enter  his  ter- 
ritory, he  thus  concluded :  "  As  the  Barrancas  and  the 
adjacent  fortresses  have  been  surrendered  to  and 
blown  up  by  the  British,  contrary  to  the  good  faith  I 
had  reposed  in  your  promises,  it  is  out  of  my  power 
to  protect  and  guard  your  neutrality,  as  otherwise  I 
should  have  done.  The  enemy  has  retreated;  the 
hostile  Creeks  have  fled  for  safety  to  the  forest;  and  I 
now  retire  from  your  town,  leaving  you  to  re-occupy 
your  forts,  and  protect  the  rights  of  your  citizens." 

Much  is  due  not  only  to  the  calmness  and  intrepidi- 
ty of  conduct  displayed  by  the  troops  in  their  advance 
on  the  town,  against  the  batteries  that  were  formed  in 
the  streets,  the  fort,  and  the  fleet  lying  in  the  bay,  but 
much  more  for  their  orderly,  open,  and  generous  con- 
duct towards  a  people  who  had  wholly  outraged  every 
principle  of  correct  conduct;  and  who,  even  at  the 


256  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

moment  when  the  sword  was  made  the  appeal,  and  the 
blow  they  merited  only  stayed  by  humanity,  were  still 
pursuing  a  course  of  faithlessness  and  treachery,  and 
clearly  evincing  a  disposition  to  aid  and  assist  our  ene- 
mies :  yet,  under  such  circumstances,  which  certainly 
would  have  warranted  a  less  lenient  course  towards 
them,  not  a  single  irregularity  was  committed,  or  the 
rights  of  individuals  at  all  molested.  So  exemplary 
was  the  deportment  of  our  officers,  and  the  conduct  of 
our  soldiers,  as  to  extort  high  compliments  from  the 
Spaniards,  and  to  induce  the  declaration  that  our  In- 
dians had  behaved  with  more  decency  and  propriety 
than  their  friends,  with  whom  they  had  just  parted. 
When  we  remember,  what  is  undeniably  the  fact,  that 
the  British  had  be^n  always  well  received  by  the  inha- 
bitants of  Florida,  who  had  rendered  them  every  as- 
sistance and  protection  in  their  power;  and  who,  from 
their  disposition  to  aid  them,  had  even  brought  diffi- 
culties upon  themselves,  ingratitude  and  injustice  may 
be  well  charged  upon  them,  when  it  is  recollected  that 
these  friends,  who  had  been  so  well  regarded,  on  re- 
treating from  Pensacola,  carried  off  three  or  four  hun- 
dred slaves,  not  their  own,  in  despite  of  the  remon- 
strances and  repeated  demands  of  the  owners  to  have 
them  restored. 

Our  loss  in  this  expedition  was  quite  inconsider- 
able. The  left  column  alone  met  resistance,  and  had 
fifteen  or  twenty  wounded — none  killed.  It  appears, 
indeed,  strange,  that  three  heavy  pieces  of  artillery, 
charged  with  grape  and  canister,  and  three  times  fired 
against  a  column  advancing  through  a  narrow  street, 
should  not  have  effected  greater  injury.  Of  the  num.- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  257 

ber  wounded,  was  lieutenant  Flournoy,  a  promising 
young  man,  who,  having  gone  out  as  a  volunteer,  was, 
on  account  of  his  merit,  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in 
the  forty-fourth  United  States'  regiment.  By  a  cannon 
shot  he  lost  his  leg.  Captain  Laval  being  too  danger- 
ously injured  to  be  removed,  was  confided  by  the  ge- 
neral to  the  clemency  of  the  governor  of  Pensacola, 
who  humanely  gave  him  that  attention  his  situation 
required. 

The  Indian  warriors,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Pen- 
sacola, finding  themselves  abandoned  by  the  British, 
fled  across  the  country,  and  sought  safety  on  the  Ap- 
palachicola :  many  were  afforded  shelter  on  board  the 
shipping,  from  which  they  were  shortly  afterwards 
landed,  to  prosecute  the  war  after  their  own  manner, 
and  in  their  own  way.  Jackson  determined  they 
should  have  no  rest,  or  respite  from  danger,  so  long 
as  a  warlike  attitude  was  preserved.  Recent  events 
had  shown  them,  that  neither  the  valour  of  their  al- 
lies, nor  their  own  exertions,  could  afford  them  pro- 
tection. He  believed  it  an  auspicious  moment  to  pur- 
sue them  in  their  retreat ;  increase  still  further  their 
fears  and  apprehensions;  and  effectually  cut  up  that 
misplaced  confidence,  which  had  already  well  nigh 
proved  their  ruin.  Understanding  that  those  who 
had  been  carried  off  from  Pensacola  had  been  landed 
on  the  Appalachicola,  and  a  depot  of  all  necessary 
supplies  there  established,  major  Blue,  of  the  thirty- 
ninth  regiment,  was  sent  off,  on  the  16th,  at  the  head 
of  a  thousand  mounted  men,  with  orders  to«follow  and 
attack  them,  and  destroy  any  of  their  villages  he  might 
find  on  his  route.  General  JVMntosh,  of  the  Georgia 


258  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

militia,  then  in  the  Creek  country,  was  apprized  of  the 
destination,  and  directed  to  co-operate,  that  the  savages 
might  be  assailed  and  dispersed,  before  they  should 
have  it  in  their  power  to  attempt  hostilities  against  the 
frontiers.  Having  effected  this  object,  they  were  or- 
dered to  repair  to  Mobile,  to  aid  in  its  defence. 

Shortly  after  the  American  army  had  retired,  the 
Spaniards  commenced  rebuilding  Forts  Barrancas  and 
St.  Rose,  which  they  had  lost  through  the  improper 
interference  of  their  friends.  Anxious  to  regain  that 
confidence  they  had  justly  forfeited,  the  British  offer- 
ed their  services  to  assist  in  the  re-establishment. 
This  offer  was  refused,  and  an  answer  returned  by 
the  governor,  that  when  assistance  was  in  fact  need- 
ed, he  would  make  application  to  his  friend  general 
Jackson. 

There  was  nothing  now  so  much  desired  by  the 
general,  as  to  be  able  to  depart  for  New  Orleans,  where 
he  apprehended  the  greatest  danger,  and  where  he 
believed  his  presence  was  most  material.  He  had  al- 
ready effected  a  partial  security  for  Mobile,  and  the 
inhabitants  on  its  borders ;  and  such  as  he  believed 
might  be  preserved,  by  proper  vigilance  and  activity 
in  those  who  were  left  in  command.  He  determined 
to  set  out  on  the  22d  for  the  Mississippi ;  and,  by  his 
exertions,  seek  to  place  the  country  in  such  a  situation 
for  defence  as  the  means  within  his  reach  would  per- 
mit. His  health  was  still  delicate,  which  almost  wholly 
unfitted  him  for  the  duties  he  had  to  encounter  :  but 
his  constant  expectation  of  a  large  force  appearing 
soon  on  the  coast,  impelled  him  to  action.  Added  to 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  259 

the  fatigues  incident  to  his  station,  he  as  yet  had  no 
brigadier-general  in  his  district  to  relieve  him  of  many 
of  those  duties  which  he  had  neither  time  nor  bodily 
strength  to  meet.  General  Winchester  had  been  or- 
dered to  join  him.  He  had  not  yet  arrived,  but  was 
daily  looked  for.  In  expectation  of  his  speedy  ap- 
proach, Jackson  was  making  every  necessary  arrange- 
ment for  investing  him  with  the  command  of  Mobile, 
and  for  his  own  departure.  Colonel  Hayne,  the  in- 
spector-general, was  despatched  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  to  examine  whether  in  that  direction  there 
were  any  eligibl^site,  where,  by  erecting  batteries,  the 
river  might  be  commanded,  and  an  ascent  prevented, 
if  through  this  route  attempted.  General  Coffee  and 
colonel  Hinds,  with  the  dragoons  from  the  territory, 
were  ordered  to  march  with  their  commands,  and  take 
a  position  as  convenient  to  New  Orleans  as  they  could 
obtain  a  sufficiency  of  forage  to  recruit  their  horses ; 
having  regard  to  some  central  point,  whence  they 
might,  without  loss  of  time,  proceed  wherever  danger 
should  be  most  imminent  Every  thing  being  arranged, 
and  intelligence  received  that  general  Winchester  had 
reached  the  Alabama  river,  Jackson,  on  the  22d  da}r  of 
November,  left  Mobile  for  the  city  of  New  Orleans, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of  December;  and  where 
his  head-quarters  were,  for  the  present,  established. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Jackson's  correspondence  with  the  governor  of  Louisiana. — Hi*  address 
to  the  citizens. -^-Militia  from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  advance  ;  and 
general  plans  adopted  for  defence. — -Plan  for  filling  delinquencies  in 
the  army. — British  shipping  arrive  on  the  coast. — Loss  of  the  Sea 
fforse. — Battle  on  the  lake,  and  loss  of  the  gun  boats. — Jackson  re- 
views the  militia. — His  address  to  them. — Detention  of  his  flag. — 
Anecdote. — Expresses  sent  to  generals  Coffee  and  Carroll. — Declara- 
tion of  martial  law  at  JVetw  Orleans. — The  British  effect  a  landing, 
and  Jackson  prepares  to  meet  them. 

GENERAL  JACKSON  was  now  on  a  new  theatre,  and 
soon  to  be  brought  in  collision  with  an  enemy  dif- 
ferent from  any  he  had  yet  encountered :  the  time 
had  arrived  to  call  forth  all  the  energies  he  possessed. 
His  military  career,  from  its  commencement,  had  been 
obstructed  by  innumerable  difficulties,  but  far  greater 
were  now  rising  to  his  view.  His  body  worn  down 
by  sickneSs  and  exhaustion,  with  a  mind  constantly 
alive  to  the  apprehension,  that,  with  the  means  given 
him,  it  would  not  be  in  his  power  to  satisfy  his  own 
wishes,  and  the  expectations  of  his  country,  \vere 
circumstances  well  calculated  to  depress  him.  He  was 
as  yet  without  sufficient  strength  or  preparation,  to 
attempt  successful  opposition  against  the  numerous 
and  well-trained  troops  which  were  expected  shortly 
at  some  unprepared  point,  to  enter  and  lay  waste  the 
lower  country.  What  was  to  be  hop^d  from  the  cle- 
mency and  generous  conduct  of  such  a  foe,  their  march 
to  the  city  of  Washington  already  announced ;  while 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  26 1 

the  imagination  portrayed  in  lively  colours  the  repeti- 
tion, here,  of  scenes  of  desolation  even  surpassing 
what  had  there  been  witnessed. 

Louisiana,  he  well  knew,  was  ill  supplied  with  arms, 
and  contained  a  mixed  population,  of  different  tongues, 
who,  perhaps,  felt  not  a  sufficient  attachment  for  the 
soil  or  government,  to  be  induced  to  defend  them  to  the 
last  extremity.  No  troops,  arms,  or  ammunition  had 
yet  descended  from  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee. His  only  reliance  for  defence,  if  suddenly  as- 
sailed, was  on  the  few  regulars  he  had,  the  volunteers 
of  general  Coffee,  and  such  troops  as  the  state  itself 
could  furnish.  What  might  be  the  final  result  of  things, 
under  prospects  gloomy  as  the  present,  should  an 
enemy  shortly  appear,  was  not  a  matter  difficult  to 
conjecture.  His  principal  fears  at  present  were,  that 
Mobile  might  fall,  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi  be 
gained,  all  communication  with  the  western  states  cut 
off,  and  New  Orleans  be  thus  unavoidably  reduced. 
Although  continually  agitated  by  such  forebodings,  he 
breathed  his  fears  to  none.  Closely  locking  all  ap- 
prehensions in  his  own  breast,  he  appeared  constantly 
serene,  and  as  constantly  endeavoured  to  impress  a 
general  belief,  that  the  country  could  and  would  be 
successfully  defended.  The  manifestation  of  such 
tranquillity,  and  his  avowed  certainty  of  success,  under 
circumstances  so  unpropitious,  excited  strong  hopes, - 
dispelled  every  thing  like  fear,  and  impressed  all  with 
additional  confidence. 

With  the  remnant  of  force  he  had  at  command,  and 
the  additional  strength  to  be  afforded  him  from  Ken- 


262  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

tucky  and  Tennessee,  uncertain  in  its  arrival,  undisci- 
plined, and  unarmed,  to  oppose  an  enemy  who  might 
be  already  on  the  coast,  and  of  whose  exceeding  va- 
lour great  and  wondrous  stories  had  been  already  told, 
might  have  sunk  into  inaction  any  mind  not  gifted 
with  uncommon  and  extraordinary  energy,  and  made  it 
to  retire  from  a  contest,  where  seemingly  insurmount- 
able difficulties  but  rendered  delusive  every  hope  of 
resistance  :  yet,  firm  and  resolute,  an  increase  of  diffi- 
culties but  occasioned  an  increase  of  exertion,  and  he 
entered  on  his  forlorn  undertaking  with  no  other  de- 
termination than  to  leave  nothing  unassayed  that 
might  enable  him  to  ride  out  the  threatening  storm  in 
safety. 

While  engaged  in  his  operations  on  the  Mobile,  and 
even  while  at  Fort  Jackson,  he  had  kept  up  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  governor  of  Louisiana,  persuading 
and  urging  him  to  the  adoption  of  such  measures  as 
might  be  calculated  to  give  security  to  the  state.  From 
the  information  derived  through  this  source,  he  felt 
assured  that  little  reliance  was  to  be  placed  on  the 
great  body  of  the  citizens ;  and  that  to  gain  any  deci- 
sive advantages  from  their  services,  it  would  be  ne- 
cessary to  abandon  every  thing  like  temporizing  po- 
licy, and  pursue  a  course  at  once  steady  and  unwaver- 
ing. Many  of  the  inhabitants,  indulging  a  belief  that 
Florida  would  shortly  be  restored  to  Spain ;  and  a  still 
greater  number  tremblingly  alive  to  the  opinion  that 
the  country  could  not  be  successfully  defended,  had 
led  most  well  designing  men  astray ;  while  English- 
men, Spaniards,  and  innumerable  other  foreigners, 
feeling  no  attachment  to  the  government  under  which 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  263 

they  lived,  were,  at  any  time,  ready  to  surrender  it  to 
any  power  that  might  venture  to  invade  it.  The  re- 
quisition made,  had  been  badly  filled ;  many  had  ab- 
solutely refused,  even  after  being  drafted,  to  enter  the 
ranks.  At  so  eventful  a  crisis  as  that  which  was  fast 
approaching,  it  was  painful  to  discover  so  great  a  want 
of  union  and  disregard  of  duty,  in  those  very  persons 
upon  whom  he  would  be  compelled  to  rely,  on  any  sud- 
den emergency.  This  reluctance  to  entering  the  field, 
there  was  a  propriety  in  putting  down,  that  the  good 
might  not  be  led  astray  from  privileges  usurped  by 
the  designing ;  and  to  convince  the  disaffected  that 
those  who  shared  the  care  and  protection  of  the  go- 
vernment, were,  and  should  be,  under  obligations  to 
defend  it,  when  required. 

Governor  Claiborne  had  been  addressed  on  this 
subject;  and,  while  the  necessity  of  discouraging  every 
improper  temper  of  mind  among  his  citizens  was  in- 
sisted on,  he  was  exhorted  to  use  his  exertions  in 
guarding  every  pass  from  the  city,  that  the  enemy, 
hovering  in  the  gulf,  might  not  obtain  supplies  from 
the  shore.  "  I  regret,"  said  he,  "  to  hear  of  the  dis- 
contents of  your  people :  they  must  not  exist.  Who- 
ever is  not  for  us,  is  against  us.  Those  who  are  drafted 
must  be  compelled  to  the  ranks,  or  punished  :  it  is  no 
time  to  balance :  the  country  must  be  defended ;  and 
he  who  refuses  to  aid,  when  called  on,  must  be  treated 
with  seventy.  To  repel  the  danger  with  which  we 
are  assailed,  requires  all  our  energies,  and  all  our  ex- 
ertions. With  union  on  our  side,  we  shall  be  able  to 
drive  our  invaders  back  to  the  ocean.  Summon  all 
your  energy,  and  guard  every  avenue  with  confiden- 


264  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

tial  patroles,  for  spies  and  traitors  are  swarming  around. 
Numbers  will  be  flocking  to  your  city,  to  gain  infor- 
mation, and  corrupt  your  citizens.  Every  aid  in  your 
power  must  be  given  to  prevent  vessels  sailing  with 
provisions.  By  us,  the  enemy  must  not  be  fed.  Let 
none  pass ;  for  on  this  will  depend  our  safety,  until  we 
can  get  a  competent  force  in  the  field,  to  oppose  at- 
tack, or  to  become  the  assailants.  We  have  more  to 
dread  from  intestine,  than  open  and  avowed  enemies : 
but,  vigilance  on  our  side,  and  all  will  be  safe.  Re- 
member, our  watch  word  is  victory  or  death.  Our 
country  must  and  shall  be  defended.  We  will  enjoy 
our  liberty,  or  perish  in  the  last  ditch." 

He  forwarded,  at  the  same  time,  an  address  to  the 
people  of  Louisiana,  and  endeavoured  to  excite  them 
to  a  defence  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  to  raise 
in  their  minds  an  abhorrence  of  an  enemy,  who,  by 
proclamation,  and  dishonourable  stratagem,  had  sought 
to  promote  disunion,  and  to  draw  the  disaffected  to 
their  standard.  He  pointed  out  the  course  the  present 
Crisis  required  them  to  adopt,  and  entreated  them  not 
to  be  lured  from  their  fidelity  to  a  country,  of  all 
others,  the  freest  and  happiest,  by  uniting  with  a 
foe,  who  sought  a  furtherance  of  his  views,  by  the 
most  disreputable  pretences — by  courting  the  friend- 
ship and  aid  of  even  traitors,  pirates,  and  robbers. 

"  Your  government,  Louisianians,  is  engaged  in  a 
just  and  honourable  contest,  for  the  security  of  your 
individual,  and  her  national  rights.  The  only  country 
on  earth,  where  man  enjoys  freedom,  where  its  bless- 
ings are  alike  extended  to  the  poor  and  rich,  calls  on 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  265 

you  to  protect  her  from  the  grasping  usurpation  of 
Britain : — she  will  not  call  in  vain.  I  know  that  eve- 
ry man,  whose  bosom  beats  high  at  the  proud  title 
of  freeman,  will  promptly  obey  her  voice,  and  rally 
round  the  eagles  of  his  country,  resolved  to  rescue 
her  from  impending  danger,  or  nobly  to  die  in  her  de- 
fence. He  who  refuses  to  defend  his  rights,  when  call- 
ed on  by  his  government,  deserves  to  be  a  slave — 
deserves  to  be  punished,  as  an  enemy  to  his  country — a 
friend  to  her  foes." 

The  minds  of  the  people  of  Louisiana  were  thus 
gradually  turned  to  consider  of  the  contest,  in  which 
it  was  certainly  expected  they  were  shortly  to  be  en- 
gaged, that  they  might  be  ready  and  prepared  to  meet 
it,  when  the  period  should  arrive  to  render  it  neces- 
sary. Preparations  for  collecting,  in  sufficient  strength, 
to  repel  an  invasion,  when  it  should  be  attempted,  had 
been  carried  actively  forward.  The  fiat  of  the  secre- 
tary of  war  had  been  issued  to  the  governors  of  the 
adjoining  states ;  and  Jackson  had  long  since  anxiously 
pressed  them  to  hasten  the  execution  of  the  order,  and 
push  their  forces  to  the  place  of  danger,  without  de- 
lay. The  ardour  felt  by  the  governor  of  Tennessee, 
rendered  any  incentive  unnecessary.  He  was  well 
aware  of  the  importance  of  activity  and  exertion,  and 
had  used  all  the  authority  of  his  office,  to  call  the  re- 
quisition forth,  and  have  it  in  readiness,  speedily  as 
possible. 

Governor  Shelby,  of  Kentucky,  had  been  no  less 
vigilant  in  discharge  of  the  duty  required  of  him.  The 
necessity  of  despatch,  in  military  matters,  and  the  ad- 

2L 


266  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 

vantages  resulting  from  it,  in  his  youth  and  more  ad- 
vanced age,  he  had  studied  and  learned  in  the  field  of 
battle.  The  troops  from  his  state  were  immediately 
organized ;— placed  under  the  command  of  major- 
general  Thomas,  and  directed  to  proceed  down  the 
Ohio,  to  resist  the  inroads  of  the  enemy.*  It  may  be 
esteemed  a  circumstance  of  great  good  fortune,  that 
Shelby,  at  a  time  so  perilous  as  that  in  wilich  the 
tJnited  States  were  placed,  during  the  period  of  his 
services,  should  have  been  the  chief  magistrate  of 
Kentucky;  a  state  possessing  ample  resources,  and 
which  might  have  slumbered  in  inaction,  but  for  the 
energy  of  him  who  filled  her  executive  chair.  He  did 
not  remain  contented  with  a  discharge  merely  of  those 
duties  which  were  imposed  on  him  by  his  office ;  but, 
feeling  the  ardour  of  his  youth  revived,  excited  his 
citizens  by  manly  appeals,  and  inspirited  them  by  his 
own  example.  The  government  had  never  called 
Upon  the  patriotism  of  this  state  that  it  had  not  been 
met  with  a  becoming  zeal  by  the  governor,  and  as 
cheerfully  and  promptly  acquiesced  in  by  his  people. 
The  bravery  and  promptitude  with  which  they  crowd- 
ed to  the  American  standard,  at  the  first  onset  of  dan- 
ger, where  they  firmly  supported  the  honour  of  the 
nation,  enduring  cold,  and  hunger,  and  every  privation, 
merit  to  be  remembered,  and  entitle  her  citizens  to 
the  gratitude  of  the  country. 

*  When  this  requisition  was  ready  to  proceed,  the  state  of  the 
quarter-master's  department  was  discovered  to  be  wholly  inadequate 
to  those  outfits  and  supplies  necessary  to  its  departure.  Thus  situated, 
individuals  of  the  state  came  orward,  pledged  their  funds,  and  en- 
abled it  to  advance. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  267 

William  Carroll,  who,  on  the  promotion  of  Jackson 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  had  been  appointed 
a  major-general  of  Tennessee  militia,  was  to  command 
the  requisition  intended  to  be  marched  from  the  state* 
He  had  issued  his  orders  to  his  division,  and,  on  the 
19th  of  November,  the  day  appointed  for  their  rendez- 
vous, 'twenty-five  hundred  of  the  yeomanry  of  the 
state  appeared  at  Nashville ;  and,  in  eight  days,  em- 
barked on  board  their  boats,  and  directed  their  way  to 
New  Orleans,  the  place  of  their  destination.  To  the 
industry  of  general  Carroll,  in  hastening  those  arrange- 
ments, which  enabled  his  division  so  promptly  to  de- 
part, every  respect  is  due ;  for,  to  his  fortunate  arrival, 
as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  is  greatly  to  be  attributed 
the  reason  that  success  did  not  result  to  the  enemy, 
in  his  first  assault,  or  that  Louisiana  escaped  the  im- 
pending danger. 

The  militia,  now  organized,  from  these  two  states, 
were  highly  respectable  for  their  numbers,  and  were 
commanded  by  officers  who  carried  with  them  entire 
confidence.  In  braver}r,  they  were  not  surpassed  by 
any  troops ;  yet  were  they  without  experience  or  dis- 
cipline, and  indifferently  armed.  Many  had  procured 
muskets  and  bayonets;  though  the  greater  part  of 
them  had  arms  capable  of  rendering  little  or  no  ser- 
vice ;  while  some  had  none  at  all.  To  remedy  their 
want  of  discipline  was  attended  with  some  difficulty, 
on  account  of  the  slender  means  afforded  for  instruc- 
tion, while,  in  boats,  they  were  descending  the  river, 
Carroll's  anxiety,  however,  for  the  respectable  ap- 
pearance of  his  troops,  and  a  still  stronger  desire 
entertained,  that  they  might  be  in  a  situation  for  im- 


268  "MFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

mediate  action,  if  necessity,  on  his  arrival,  should  re- 
quire it,  led  him  to  seize  even  on  the  limited  oppor- 
tunities for  improvement  that  were  within  his  reach. 
Whenever,  from  adverse  winds,  or  any  other  cause 
preventing  his  progress,  he  was  compelled  to  stop,  his 
men  were  immediately  brought  to  receive  every  infor- 
mation that  could,  under  such  circumstances,  be  com- 
municated ;  and  often,  while  floating  with  the  stream, 
the  decks  of  his  boats  formed  a  field  for  their  rna- 
nceuvres.  Although  in  this  way,  partial  progress  was 
made,  and  some  advantages  gained,  yet  were  they  in- 
considerable ;  for  still  were  they  but  militia-men,  and 
as  yet  unqualified  to  meet  the  veteran  troops  with 
which  they  were  going  to  contend. 

Although  general  Jackson  had  obtained  his  success- 
es heretofore  with  troops  of  this  description,  yet  he 
was  far  from  entertaining  a  belief  that  they  could  be 
relied  on  for  manoeuvring  in  an  open  field,  against 
troops  who  were  skilled,  and  inured  to  war.  None 
knew  better  the  point  of  exertion  to  which  militia 
could  be  strained;  that  while  successful  and  resting 
with  confidence  in  themselves,  none  could  effect  more ; 
but  when  once  dispirited,  they  became  a  useless 
weight  Taught  by  a  recollection  of  the  difficulties 
he  had  heretofore  encountered,  and  a  knowledge  that 
forces  of  this  description  were  ever  capricious  and  re- 
fractory, he  had  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  secretary 
of  war,  a  new  and  different  course  from  what  had  been 
before  pursued,  as  more  efficient,  less  expensive,  and 
better  calculated  for  the  purposes  of  defence.  In  a  let- 
ter to  him,  of  the  20th  of  November,  1814,  he  observes, 
•"  Permit  me  to  suggest  a  plan,  which,  on  a  fair  expe- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  269 

riment,  will  do  away  or  lessen  the  expenses,  under  the 
existing  mode  of  calling  militia  forces  into  the  field. 
Whenever  there  happens  to  be  a  deficiency  in  the  re- 
gular force,  in  any  particular  quarter,  let  the  govern- 
ment determine  on  the  necessary  number :  this  should 
be  apportioned  among  the  different  states,  agreeably 
to  their  respective  representations,  and  called  into  ser- 
vice for,  and  during  the  war.  The  quota  wanted  will, 
in  my  opinion,  be  soon  raised  from  premiums  offered 
by  those  who  are  subject  to  militia  duty,  rather  than 
be  harassed  by  repeated  drafts.  In  the  mean  time, 
let  the  present  bounty,  given  by  the  government,  be 
also  continued.  If  this  be  done,  I  will  insure  that  an 
effective  force  shall  soon  appear  in  every  quarter,  am- 
ply sufficient  for  the  reduction  of  Canada,  and  to  drive 
all  our  enemies  from  our  shores."  . 

Such  was  the  course  of  things,  and  such  the  plans 
which  were  in  progress  for  the  security  and  safety  of 
the  country,  when  the  general  reached  New  Orleans. 
The  period  was  too  momentous  to  afford  a  respite 
from  business ;  and  he  immediately  adopted  such 
measures  as  could  be  earliest  effected,  and  which  were 
best  calculated  for  resistance  and  defence. 

The  legislature  of  Louisiana  had  for  some  weeks 
been  in  session ;  and,  through  the  governor's  commu- 
nication, informed  of  the  situation,  condition  and 
strength  of  the  country,  and  of  the  necessity  of  calling 
all  its  resources  into  active  operation ;  but,  balancing 
in  their  decisions,  and  uncertain  of  the  best  course  to 
be  pursued  to  assure  protection,  they,  as  yet,  had  re- 
solved upon  nothing  promising  certainty  and  safety,  or 


270  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

calculated  to  infuse  tranquillity  and  confidence  in  the 
public  mind.  The  arrival  of  Jackson,  however,  pro- 
duced a  new  aspect  in  affairs.  His  activity  and  zeal 
in  preparation,  and  his  reputation  as  a  brave  man  and 
skilful  commander,  had  turned  all  eyes  towards  him, 
and  inspired  even  the  desponding  with  a  confidence 
they  had  not  before  felt.  £*H 

The  volunteer  corps  of  the  city  were  reviewed,  and 
a  visit,  in  person,  made  to  the  different  forts,  to  ascer- 
tain their  situation  and  capacity  for  defence,  and  the 
reliance  that  might  be  had  on  them,  to  repel  the  ene- 
my's advance.  Through  the  lakes  large  vessels  could 
not  pass :  should  an  approach  be  attempted  through 
this  route,  in  their  barges,  it  might  be  met  and  opposed 
by  the  gun  boats  which  already  guarded  this  passage ; 
but  if,  unequal  to  the  contest,  they  should  be  captured, 
it  would,  at  any  rate,  give  timely  information  of  a  de- 
scent, which  might  be  resisted  at  their  landing,  and  be- 
fore any  opportunity  could  be  had  of  executing  fully 
their  designs.  Up  the  Mississippi,  however,  was  looked 
upon  as  the  most  probable  pass  through  which  might 
be  made  an  attempt  to  reach  the  city ;  and  here  were 
in  progress  suitable  preparations  for  defence. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  colonel  Hayne  had 
been  despatched  from  Mobile  with  directions  to  view 
the  Mississippi  near  its  mouth,  and  report  if  any  ad- 
vantageous position  could  be  found  for  the  erection  of 
batteries ;  and  whether  the  re-establishment  of  the  old 
fort  at  the  Balize  would  command  the  river,  in  a  way 
to  prevent  its  being  ascended.  That  it  could  not  be 
relied  on  for  this  purpose,  the  opinions  of  military  men 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  271 

had  already  declared.  General  Jackson  was  always 
disposed  to  respect  the  decisions  of  those,  who,  from 
their  character  and  standing,  were  entitled  to  confi- 
dence ;  yet,  in  matters  of  great  importance,  it  formed 
no  part  of  his  ceeed  to  attach  his  faith  to  the  statements 
of  any,  where  the  object  being  within  his  reach,  it  was 
in  his  power  to  look  to  the  fact  and  satisfy  himself. 
Trusting  implicitly  in  colonel  Hayne  as  a  military  man, 
who,  from  proper  observation,  could  infer  correct  con- 
clusions, he  had  despatched  him  thither  to  examine 
how  far  it  was  practicable  to  obstruct  and  secure  this 
channel.  His  report  was  confirmatory  of  the  previous 
information  received,  that  it  was  incapable,  from  its 
situation,  of  effecting  any  such  object. 

Fort  St.  Philip  was  now  resorted  to  as  the  lowest 
point  on  the  river  where  the  erection  of  a  fortification 
could  be  at  all  serviceable.  The  general  had  returned 
to  New  Orleans  on  the  9th,  from  a  visit  to  this  place, 
which  he  had  ordered  to  be  repaired  and  strengthened. 
The  commanding  officer  was  directed  to  remove  every 
combustible  material  without  the  fort;  to  have  two 
additional  platforms  immediately  raised ;  and  the  em- 
brasures so  enlarged  that  the  ordnance  might  have 
the  greatest  possible  sweep  upon  their  circles,  and  be 
brought  to  bear  on  any  object  within  their  range  that 
might  approach  either  up  or  down  the  river.  At  a  small 
distance  below,  the  Mississippi,  changing  its  course, 
left  a  neck  of  land  in  the  bend  covered  with  timber, 
and  which  obstructed  the  view.  From  this  point 
down  to  where  old  Fort  Bourbon  stood,  on  the  west 
side,  the  growth  along  the  bank  was  ordered  to  be  cut 
away,  that  the  shot  from  St.  Philip,  ranging  across  this 


272  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

point  of  land,  might  reach  an  approaching  vessel  before 
she  should  be  unmasked  from  behind  it.  On  the  site 
of  Bourbon  was  to  be  thrown  up  a  strong  work,  de- 
fended by  five  twenty-four  pounders,  which,  with  the 
fort  above,  would  be  calculated  to  expose  an  enemy  to 
a  cross  fire,  for  half  a  mile.  A  mile  above  St.  Philip 
was  to  be  established  a  work,  which,  in  conjunction 
with  the  others,  would  effectually  command  the  river 
for  two  miles.  At  Terre  au  Boeuf,  and  at  the  English 
turn,  twelve  miles  below  the  city,  were  also  to  be  taken 
measures  for  defence ;  where  it  was  expected  by  Jack- 
son, with  his  flying  artillery  and  fire  ships,  he  would 
be  able  certainly  to  arrest  the  enemy's  advance.  This 
system  of  defence,  properly  established,  he  believed 
would  ensure  security  from  any  attack  in  this  direction. 
Fort  St.  Philip,  with  the  auxiliary  batteries  above  and 
below  it,  would  so  concentrate  their  fires,  that  an  ene- 
my could  never  pass  without  suffering  greatly,  and 
perhaps  being  so  shattered  that  they  would  fall  an 
easy  prey  to  those  defences  which  wrere  still  higher  up 
the  river.  The  essential  difficulty  was  to  have  them 
commenced  and  speedily  finished.  On  returning,  he 
hastened  to  apprize  the  governor  of  his  views,  and  of 
his  arrangements,  and  entreated  him  to  aid  in  their 
furtherance.  It  was  proposed  to  submit  it  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  legislature,  and  to  prevail,  if  possible, 
with  the  planters,  to  furnish  their  slaves,  by  whom, 
alone,  such  work  could,  in  so  insalubrious  a  climate,  be 
safely  executed.  "  If  what  is  proposed  be  performed," 
said  he,  "I  will  stand  pledged  that  the  invaders  of  your 
state  shall  never,  through  this  route,  reach  your  city." 
He  desired  to  be  informed,  early,  of  the  success  of  the 
application,  and  to  know  how  far  the  legislature  would 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  273 

be  disposed  to  extend  their  fostering  care  to  the  ob- 
jects suggested;  that,  in  the  event  of  failure,  he  might 
have  recourse  to  such  resources  as  were  within  his 
reach.  "  But,"  added  he,  "  not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost. 
With  energy  and  expedition,  all  is  safe : — delay,  and 
all  is  lost." 

The  plans  of  operation  and  defence  were  projecting 
on  an  extensive  scale.  The  only  objects  of  fear  were 
the  disaffected  who  infested  the  city ;  and  to  these,  af- 
ter the  most  incessant  exertions  and  laborious  efforts, 
he  had  well  nigh  fallen  a  victim. 

Aware  of  approaching  danger,  the  views  of  the  ge- 
neral had  been  met  with  becoming  zeal,  and  the  ne- 
cessary measures  taken,  to  have  the  selected  points 
for  defence  completed  in  the  shortest  possible  time ; 
which  might  present,  on  the  Mississippi,  barriers,  that 
it  was  not  feared  the  enemy  would  be  able  to  pass. 

On  lakes  Borgne  and  Pontchartrain,  an  equally 
strong  confidence  was  had,  that  all  would  be  safe  from 
invasion.  Commodore  Patterson,  who  commanded  the 
naval  forces,  had  executed  every  order  with  prompt- 
ness and  activity.  Agreeably  to  instructions  received 
from  the  commanding  general,  to  extend  to  all  the 
passes  on  the  lakes  every  protection  in  his  power,  he 
had  already  sent  out  the  gun  boats,  under  lieutenant 
Jones.  From  their  vigilance  and  capability  to  defend, 
great  advantages  were  calculated  to  arise ;  added  to 
which,  the  Rigolets,  the  communication  between  the 
two  lakes,  was  defended  by  Petit  Coquille  fort,  a  strong 
work,  under  the  command  of  captain  Newman,  which, 

2  M 


274  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

when  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  gun  boats,  it  was 
supposed  would  be  competent  to  repel  any  assault  that 
might  there  be  waged.  The  prospects  of  defence  had 
been  improved  by  detachments  sent  with  orders  to  fell 
timber  across  every  small  bayou  and  creek,  that  lead 
out  of  the  lakes,  and  through  which  a  passage  for  boats 
and  barges  could  be  afforded ;  and  to  increase  the  ob- 
struction, by  sinking  large  frames  in  their  beds,  and 
filling  them  with  earth.  Guards  and  videttes  were  al- 
so posted  in  different  directions  to  give  the  earliest 
information  of  every  thing  that  passed.  In  despite, 
however,  of  these  precautionary  measures,  treachery 
opened  a  way,  and  pointed  the  entrance  of  the  enemy 
to  a  narrow  pass,  through  which  they  effected  a  land- 
ing, and  reached  previously  to  being  discovered,  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

Such  were  the  measures  adopted  for  the  protection 
of  Louisiana  against  an  attack,  which,  although  hither- 
to resting  on  conjecture,  was  supported  by  too  many 
strong  circumstances  to  admit  of  doubt.  Information 
of  a  considerable  force  having  left  England,  filled  with 
high  hopes  and  expectations — the  attack  on  Fort  Bow- 
yer,  and  the  inflammatory  proclamations  already  pub- 
lished, with  anonymous  letters  received  from  persons 
in  the  West  Indies  and  Pensacola,  known  and  to  be  re- 
lied on,  all  tended  strongly  to  unfold  the  views  of  the 
enemy,  and  to  dissipate  every  thing  of  doubt  as  to  their 
designs.*  But  the  time  was  at  hand  when  conjecture 
was  giving  place  to  certainty ;  when  the  intentions  of 
the  invaders  were  fully  developing  themselves ;  and 

*  See  note  B. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  275 

the  fact  fairly  presented,  that  Louisiana  must  fall  and 
her  principal  city  be  sacked,  unless  the  brave  men  as- 
sociated to  defend  her,  should  stand  firmly  in  her  de- 
fence, resolved  to  justify  the  high  expectations  which 
had  been  formed  of  their  valour.  Certain  information 
was  at  hand,  of  an  English  fleet  being  now  off  Cat  and 
Ship  island,  and  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Am£ri- 
can  lines,  where  their  strength  and  numbers  were  daily 
increasing. 

Lieutenant  Jones,  in  command  of  the  gun  boats  on 
Lake  Borgne,  was  directed  to  reconnoitre,  and  ascer- 
tain their  disposition  and  force ;  and,  in  the  event  they 
should  attempt,  through  this  route,  to  effect  a  dis- 
embarkation, to  retire  to  the  Rigolets,  and  there,  with 
his  flotilla,  make  an  obstinate  resistance,  and  contend 
to  the  last.  He  remained  off  Ship  island,  until  the 
12th  of  December,  when,  understanding  the  enemy's 
forces  were  much  increased,  he  thought  it  advisable  to 
change  his  anchorage,  and  retire  to  a  position  near 
Malheureux  island.  The  course  was  rendered  the 
more  necessary,  because  affording  a  safer  position,  and 
in  the  event  of  being  attacked,  a  better  opportunity  of 
making  good  his  retreat  to  the  Rigolets,  where  alone 
he  was  instructed  to  attempt  opposition.  Whoever 
looks  upon  a  map  of  the  country,  will  at  once  discover 
the  importance  of  this  place  if  driven  into  action  with 
a  greatly  'superior  force.  This,  and  Chef  Menteur, 
which  unite  at  the  entrance  to  the  lake,  and  form  a 
narrow  channel,  constitutes  the  only -pass  itito  Pont* 
chartrain.  By  reaching  it,  the  gun  boats  would  be  en- 
abled to  present  as  formidable  an  opposition  as  could 
be  waged  by  all  the  force  that  could  be  brought  against 


276  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

them,  and  put  at  defiance  any  effort  that  could  be  mad*-, 
to  gain  the  city  through  this  route. 

On  the  13th,  Jones  discovered  the  enemy  moving 
off  in  his  bargesr  and  directing  his  way  towards  Pass 
Christian.     He  was  not  long  in  doubt,  as  to  the  object 
probably  had  in  view ;  for,  although  at  first  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be  "  a  disembarkation,  intended  to  be  landed 
there,  yet,  on  their  passing  it,  and  pursuing  their  course 
still  further  westwardly,  he  at  once  concluded  an  attack 
on  the  gun  boats  was  designed."     His  orders  left  him 
no  discretion  as  to  the  place  he  should  meet  and  fight 
them.     Indeed,  his  flotilla,  although  quite  inconsider- 
able in  numbers,  was  of  too  much  consequence  to  the 
nation,  at  this  juncture,  to  be  inadvertently  risked,  or 
in  fact  risked  at  all,  unless  under  circumstances  giving 
a  decided  superiority.     In  no  other  way  was  this  to  be 
obtained,  than  by  reaching  the  point  to  which  he  had 
been  ordered :  this  he  endeavoured  to  effect,  as  soon 
as  he  became  satisfied  of  what  was  intended  by  their 
present  movement.     Weighing,  therefore,  his  anchors, 
with  the  design  of  reaching  the  position  referred  to  in 
bis  orders,  he  soon  discovered  it  to.be  ^vholly  imprac- 
ticable.   A  strong  wind  having  blown  rjor  some  days 
to  the  east,  from  the  lake  to  the  gulf,  had  so  reduced 
the  depth  of  water,  that  the  best  and  deepest  channels 
were  insufficient  to  float  his  little  squadron.     The  oars 
were  resorted  to,  but  without  rendering  the  least  as- 
sistance :    it   was   immoveable.     Recourse   was  now 
had  to  throwing  every  thing  overboard  that  could  be 
spared,  to  lighten  and  bring  them  off;  all,  however, 
wras  ineffectual, — nothing  could  afford  relief.    At  this 
moment  of  extreme  peril  and  danger,  the  tide  coming, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  277 

suddenly  in,  relieved  from  present  embarrassment, 
and  lifting  them  from  the  shoal,  they  bore  away  from 
the  attack  meditated;  directed  their  course  for  the 
Rigolets,  and  came  to  anchor  at  one  o'clock  the  next 
morning  on  the  west  passage  of  Malheureux  isle; 
where,  at  day,  they  discovered  the  pursuit  had  been 
abandoned. 

At  the  bay  of  St.  Louis  was  a  small  depot  of  public 
stores,  which  had,  that  morning,  been  directed,  by 
lieutenant  Jones,  to  be  brought  off.  Mr.  Johnston,  on 
board  the  Sea  Horse,  had  proceeded  in  the  execution 
of  this  order.  The  enemy,  on  the  retreat  of  Jones, 
despatched  three  of  their  barges  to  capture  him ;  but 
unable  to  effect  it,  they  were  driven  back.  An  addi- 
tional force  now  proceeded  against  him ;  when  a  smart 
action  commenced,  and  the  assailants  were  again  com- 
pelled to  retire  with  some  loss.  Johnston,  satisfied 
that  it  was  out  of  his  power  successfully  to  defend 
himself,  and  considering  it  hopeless  to  attempt  unit- 
ing, in  face  of  so  large  a  force,  with  the  gun  boats  off 
Malheureux  Island,  blew  up  his  vessel,  burnt  the 
stores,  and  effected  his  retreat  by  land,  in  conformity 
with  the  instructions  he  had  received.  A  prodigious 
explosion,  and  flames  bursting  on  the  view,  assured 
Jones  of  the  probable  step  that  had  been  taken,  and  of 
the  execution  of  the  order. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  the  enemy's 
barges,  lying  about  nine  miles  to  the  east,  suddenly 
weighed  their  anchors ;  and,  getting  under  way,  pro- 
ceeded westwardly  to  the  pass,  where  our  gun  boats 
still  lay.  The  same  difficulty  experienced  yesterday 


278  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

was  now  encountered.  Perceiving  the  approach  of  the 
enemy's  flotilla,  an  attempt  was  made  to  retreat ;  but 
in  vain.  The  wind  was  entirely  lulled,  and  a  perfect 
calm  prevailed ;  while  a  strong  current  setting  to  the 
gulf,  rendered  every  effort  to  retire  unavailing.  No 
alternative  was  at  hand ;  but  a  single  course  was  left ; 
to  meet  and  fight  them.  At  once  the  resolution  was 
adopted,  to  avail  themselves  of  the  best  position  they 
could  obtain,  wait  their  approach,  and  defend  them- 
selves, whilst  there  was  a  hope  of  success.  The  line 
was  formed,  with  springs  on  the  cables,  and  all  were 
waiting,  composedly,  the  arrival  of  a  foe,  who  imagin- 
ed himself  advancing  to  an  easy  conquest.  The  con- 
test, in  so  open  and  unfavourable  a  situation,  and 
against  so  superior  a  force,  promised,  indeed,  to  be  a 
very  unequal  one :  yet  the  firmness  and  bravery  which 
had  always  characterized  our  fearless  tars  in  battle, 
were,  on  this  occasion,  not  to  be  tarnished.  An  un- 
fortunate .state  of  things,  which  they  could  not  con- 
trol, had  brought  them  into  battle  at  a  moment,  and 
under  circumstances,  their  discretion  did  not  approve ; 
but,  being  inevitable,  every  mind  was  determined  on 
a  desperate  stand ;  and  still,  though  beaten,  to  pre- 
serve unsullied  their  reputation, — their  flag  from  dis- 
honour. 

Forty-three  boats,  mounting  as  many  cannon,  with 
twelve  hundred  chosen  men,  well  armed,  constituted 
the  strength  of  the  assailants.  Advancing  in  extended 
line,  they  were  presently  in  reach  :  and,  at  half  after 
eleven  o'clock,  commencing  a  fire  the  action  soon  be- 
came general.  Owing  to  a  strong  current,  setting  out 
to  the  east,  two  of  the  boats,  numbers  156  and  163, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  279 

were  unable  to  keep  their  anchorage,  and  floated  about 
a  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  line.  This  cir- 
cumstance was  unfortunate  ;  for  although  it  was  by  no 
means  to  be  calculated,  that  victory  could  be  attendant 
on  a  conflict,  where  strength  and  numbers  were  so 
disproportionate,  yet,  could  the  line  have  been  pre- 
served, the  chances  for  defence  would  have  been  in- 
creased— the  opportunity  more  favourable  for  inflict- 
ing injury,  and  crippling  the  foe,  while  the  period  of 
the  contest  would  have  been  protracted.  Every  moment 
this  could  have  been  prolonged  would  have  proved 
essentially  advantageous ;  for  soon  as  the  wind  should 
spring  up,  which  yet  continued  lulled,  the  boats  would 
be  rendered  more  manageable,  and  an  opportunity  af- 
forded of  retiring  from  the  battle  whenever  the  result 
promised  to  become  disastrous. 

The  enemy  relying  on  their  numbers,  and  determin- 
ing to  board,  advanced  in  three  divisions.  Our  gun 
boats  formed  in  a  line,  were  under  command  of  lieu- 
tenant Jones,  who,  on  board  No.  156,  occupied  the 
centre.  No.  162  and  163  rested  on  his  left,  under  the 
direction  of  lieutenant  Spedden  and  sailing-master 
Ulrich ;  on  his  right  was  No.  5  and  23,  commanded  by 
sailing  master  Ferris  and  lieutenant  M*Iver.  The 
centre  division  of  the  enemy,  led  by  the  senior  officer 
of  the  expedition,  captain  Lockyer,  bore  down  on 
No.  158,  the  centre  of  our  line,  and  twice  attempting 
to  board,  was  twice  repulsed  with  an  immense  destruc- 
tion of  both  officers  and  crew,  and  loss  of  two  of  their 
boats  which  were  sunk :  one  a  seventy  four's  launch, 
crowded  with  men,  went  down  immediately  along-side 
of  the  gun-boat.  Jones  being  too  severely  wounded 


280  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

longer  to  maintain  the  deck,  retired,  leaving  the  com- 
mand with  George  Parker,  who  no  less  valiantly  de- 
fended his  flag,  until  badly  wounded,  he  was  also 
compelled  to  leave  his  post ;  and  soon  after  the  boat 
was  carried.  No.  163,  though  ably  defended,  was  also 
taken;  and  the  guns  of  both  turned  on  No.  162  and 
5  which  also  surrendered ;  and  last  of  all  No.  23,  com- 
manded by  lieutenant  M'lver.  Thus  in  detail  was  our 
little  squadron,  after  a  conflict  of  nearly  an  hour,  lost ; 
a  conflict  in  which  every  thing  was  done  that  gal- 
lantry could  do,  and  nothing  unperformed  that  duty 
required ;  but  it  was  a  disaster  which,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  could  not  be  avoided.  The  calm  which 
prevailed,  and  the  unwieldly  condition  of  the  boats 
which  prevented  any  management  by  the  oars,  took 
away  all  opportunity  of  their  aiding  and  sustaining 
each  other ;  while  the  enemy's  barges,  with  great  fa- 
cility, were  able  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
of  position :  besides  this,  from  our  centre  gun-boat, 
much  aid  was  obtained ;  having  carried  her,  the  flag 
was  kept  flying,  and  under  it  her  guns  were  used 
against  the  other  boats,  a  circumstance  which  was  not 
discovered  for  some  time,  nor  until  after  repeated  dis- 
charges of  her  camion  had  been  made,  and  material 
injury  produced. 

The  commandant  was  ably  supported  by  the  officers 
associated  with  him.  Lieutenant  Spedden  and  MXlver 
were  wounded ;  the  former  in  both  arms,  and  in  one 
so  severely,  as  to  be  compelled  to  have  it  amputated : 
yet  this  valiant  officer  to  the  last  continued  his  orders ; 
nor  did  the  latter  quit  for  a  moment  his  post.  Mid- 
shipmen Cauley  and  Reynolds,  young  men  of  spirit 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  28 1 

and  promise,  fell  victims  to  the  wounds  received  in 
this  contest.    But  it  is  unnecessary  to  take  up  the 
time  of  the  reader  in  commendation  of  this  Spartan 
band :  their  bravery  and  good  conduct  will  be  long 
remembered  and  admired,  and  excite  emotions  much 
stronger  than  language   can  paint.     The  great  dis- 
parity of  force  between  the  combatants,  added  to  the 
advantages  the  enemy  derived  from  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  their  boats,  which  gave  them  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  any  position  that  circumstances   and 
safety  directed,  while  the  others  lay  wholly  unmanage- 
able, presents  a  curious  and  strange  result ;  that,  while 
the  American  loss  was  but  ten  killed,  and  thirty-five 
wounded,  that  of  their  assailants  was  not  less  than 
three   hundred.     The  British  have  never  presented 
any  report  upon  this  subject :  but,  from  every  infor- 
mation, and  from  all  the  attendant  circumstances  of 
the  battle,  it  was  even  believed  to  have  exceeded  this 
number ;  of  which  a  large  proportion  was  officers.^ 

The  British  returned  to  their  shipping,  at  Cat  Island, 
with  their  prisoners,  carrying  with  them  a  convincing 
argument,  to  do  away  the  belief  with  which  they  had 
arrived,  that,  in  this  section  of  country,  the  inhabitants 
were  waiting,  with  open  arms,  to  receive  them ;  and 
that  the  forces  embodied  for  its  defence  wTould  retire 
at  the  first  appearance  of  danger.  It  was  the  same  ar- 
ts oats.        Men.          Grins. 
*  The  British  had     43  1200  43 

The  Americans       5  182  23 

Difference  38  1018  20 

So  that  the  disparity  in  force  of  boats,  men,  and  guns,  was  as  eight— 
tevea — and  nearly  two  to  one. 

2N 


28.2  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

gument  which  a  few  weeks  before  had  been  made  to 
colonel  Nicholls,  at  Fort  Bowyer,  and  which  had  pro- 
duced on  his  mind  such  conviction,  as  to  render  him 
altogether  unwilling  that  the  matter  should  be  further 
discussed  in  his  presence. 

This  disaster  was  announced  to  general  Jackson, 
while  on  a  visit  to  the  lakes,  whither  he  had  gone  to 
examine  the  situation  of  the  different  works,  there 
erected  and  in  progress.  He  heard  it  with  much  con- 
cern; for  on  it  important  consequences  depended.  The 
means  of  watching  the  enemy,  and  ascertaining  his 
projects,  were  now  cut  off,  and  the  necessity  imposed 
of  resorting  for  defence  and  safety,  in  this  direction, 
to  entirely  different  remedies. 

Aided  by  ours,  and  the  great  number  of  their  own 
boats,  his  fears  for  the  safety  of  Mobile  were  much 
increased.  The  apprehensions  which  he  had  con- 
stantly entertained  for  this  place  were  of  the  most, 
lively  kind.  Although  he  had  every  confidence  in  the 
gallant  officer  who  commanded  at  Fort  Bowyer,  yet  he 
well  knew  how  inefficient  were  the  exertions  of  a 
brave  man,  when  assailed  by  superior  strength  and 
numbers.  The  importance  of  this  place  and  its  secu- 
rity, was  to  him  a  matter  of  the  greatest  concern.  It 
seems  to  have  been  an  object  that  never  sufficiently 
fastened  itself  on  the  consideration  of  the  enemy,  or 
indeed  our  own  government.  His  own  apprehensions 
of  an  invasion  here,  as  affecting  much  more  seri- 
ously the  interest  of  the  lower  country,  was  ta  him 
a  cause  of  constant  uneasiness.  He  felt  confident,  that 
while  this  point  remained  safe,  so  might  the  country 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  283 

adjacent ;  but  if  it  fell,  conquered  by  a  greatly  supe- 
rior force,  the  Indians  would  again  be  excited, — the 
settlements  on  the  Mobile  and  Alabama  rivers  be- 
come tributary,  and  New  Orleans  be  involved  in  the 
general  ruin.  Deeply  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  properly  defending  this  place,  he  had  heretofore 
brought  to  the  view  of  the  secretary  of  war,  the  pro- 
priety and  necessity  of  adopting  such  a  course  as 
should  place  it  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  danger.  To 
effect  this,  he  proposed  that  a  large  frigate,  mounting 
forty-four  guns,  which,  for  some  cause,  to  him  un- 
known, had  been  left  on  the  stocks,  at  Tchifonte,  in 
an  unfinished  state,  should  be  completed,  and  ap- 
plied to  this  purpose.  "  Let  her,"  he  remarked,  "  be 
placed  in  the  Navy  Cove,  which  will  protect  the  rear 
of  the  fort ;  and  my  life  upon  it,  ten  thousand  troops, 
and  all  the  British  fleet,  cannot  take  the  place,  nor 
enter  the  bay.  This  will  be  their  point  of  attack  ;  if 
carried,  they  will  penetrate  the  Indian  nation, — there 
make  a  stand,  and  incite  the  savages  to  war,  and  the 
slaves  to  insurrection  and  massacre ; — penetrate,  if 
they  can,  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  ar- 
rest all  communication.  If  they  succeed  in  this,  the 
lower  country  falls  of  course."  No  notice,  however, 
was  ever  taken  of  his  admonition,  and  nothing  done  to 
effect  the  object  proposed.  His  entire  defence  and 
safety  rested  on  the  means  which  he  himself  could 
reach.  An  express  wras  immediately  despatched  to 
general  Winchester,  apprizing  him  of  what  had  hap- 
pened ;  that  all  communication  being  cut  off,  he  must 
look  to  the  procuring  supplies  for  his  army  from  Ten- 
nessee River,  through  the  posts  established  in  the 
Creek  country.  "  The  enemy,"  he  continues,  "  will 


284  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

attempt,  through  Pass  Huron,  to  reach  you :  watch, 
nor  suffer  yourself  to  be  surprised ;  haste,  and  throw 
sufficient  supplies  into  Fort  Bowyer;  and  guard  vigi- 
lantly the  communication  from  Fort  Jackson,  lest  it 
be  destroyed.  Mobile  point  must  be  supported  and 
defended,  at  every  hazard.  The  enemy  has  given  us 
a  large  coast  to  guard ;  but  I  trust,  with  the  smiles  of 
heaven,  to  be  able  to  meet  and  defeat  him  at  every 
point  he  may  venture  his  foot  upon  the  land." 

Increased  vigilance  and  enlarged  exertions  were  now 
required  to  guard  the  different  routes  through  which 
they  might  seek  to  make  good  their  progress,  and 
reach  the  object  of  their  visit.  Major  Lacoste,  com- 
manding the  battalion  of  coloured  troops,  was  ordered, 
with  two  pieces  of  cannon  and  a  sufficient  force,  to  take 
post  on  and  defend  the  Chef  Menteur  road,  that  led 
from  the  head  of  lake  Borgne  to  New  Orleans.  In 
fact,  wherever  an  inlet  or  creek,  of  the  smallest  size, 
putting  in,  justified  the  belief,  that  through  it  an  en- 
trance might  be  effected,  suitable  arrangements  were 
made  to  obstruct  the  passage,  and  prevent  approach. 
Through  the  Rigolets  was  presumed  the  most  proba- 
ble route  the  enemy  would  adventure,  that,  by  gaining 
lake  Pontchartrain,  a  landing  might  be  made  above  or 
below  the  city,  or  at  bayou  St.  John,  directly  opposite ; 
and,  by  a  division  of  their  forces,  and  assaulting  differ- 
ent points,  make  such  a  diversion,  as,  with  raw  troops, 
could  not  be  resisted  under  any  circumstances  of  ad- 
vantage. 

This  place  had  been  confided  to  captain  Newman, 
of  the  artillery.  It  was  an  important  point,  as  well  for 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  purposes  already  named,  as  being  a  position  whence 
any  movement  on  the  lakes  could  be  discovered.  On 
the  22d,  it  was  reinforced  by  several  heavy  pieces  of 
cannon,  and  an  additional  supply  of  men.  He  was  ad- 
vised by  the  general  of  the  consequence  attached  to  it, 
and  that  it  was  not  to  be  inconsiderately  yielded ;  but 
that,  in  the  event  of  his  being  compelled  to  abandon  it, 
every  thing  being  properly  secured,  he  was  to  make 
good  his  retreat  to  Chef  Menteur,  where  he  would  be 
covered  by  an  additional  force :  "  But,"  added  he, 
"  you  are  not  to  retreat  until  your  judgment  is  well 
convinced  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  very 
salvation  of  your  command." 

On  the  16th  the  militia  were  reviewed  by  Jackson. 
He  had  perceived,  on  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  such 
a  state  of  despondency  manifested  by  the  people,  that 
to  remove  it  had  called  forth  all  his  exertions.  His 
active  and  incessant  endeavours  to  have  defended  every 
accessible  point,  and  a  confidence,  constantly  evinced, 
that  his  resources  were  commensurate  with  all  the  pur- 
poses of  successful  resistance,  had  completely  under- 
mined those  fears,  at  first  so  generally  indulged.  Lest, 
from  the  loss  which  had  lately  happened  on  the  lakes, 
a  similar  state  of  doubt  and  despondency  might  be 
again  produced,  was  the  principal  cause  of  appearing 
before  them  to-day,  on  review ;  to  convince  them,  by 
his  deportment,  that  the  safety  of  the  city  was  not  to 
be  despaired  of.  He  directed  an  address,  previously 
prepared  for  the  purpose,  to  be  read  to  them.  It  was 
drawn  in  language  breathing  the  warmth  of  his  own 
feelings,  and  well  calculated  to  communicate,  and  in- 
spire the  same  glow  to  others.  He  told  them  they 


286  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOA'. 

were  contending  for  all  that  could  render  life  desira- 
ble ;  "  For  your  property  and  lives ; — for  that  which 
is  dearer  than  all,  your  wives  and  children ; — for  liber- 
ty, without  which,  country,  life,  and  property  are  not 
worth  possessing.  Even  the  embraces  of  wives  and 
children  are  a  reproach  to  the  wretch  who  would  de- 
prive them,  by  his  cowardice,  of  those  inestimable 
blessings.  You  are  to  contend  with  an  enemy  who 
seeks  to  deprive  you  of  the  least  of  these — who  avows 
a  war  of  vengeance  and  desolation,  carried  on  and 
marked  by  cruelties,  lusts,  and  horrors,  unknown  to 
civilized  nations. 

"  Natives  of  the  United  States !  the  enemy  you  are 
to  contend  with  are  the  oppressors  of  your  infant  po- 
litical existence — they  are  the  men  your  fathers  fought 
and  conquered,  whom  you  are  now  to  oppose.  De- 
scendants of  Frenchmen !  natives  of  France !  they  are 
English,  the  hereditary,  the  eternal  enemies  of  your 
ancient  country,  the  invaders  of  that  you  have  adopt- 
ed, who  are  your  foes.  Spaniards !  remember  the  con- 
duct of  your  allies  at  St.  Sebastian,  and  recently  at 
Pensacola,  and  rejoice  that  you  have  an  opportunity  of 
avenging  the  brutal  injuries  inflicted  by  men  who  dis- 
honour the  human  race.  Louisianians !  your  general 
rejoices  to  witness  the  spirit  that  animates  you,  riot 
only  for  your  honour,  but  your  safety ;  for  whatever 
had  been  your  conduct  or  wishes,  his  duty  would  have 
led,  and  yet  will  lead  him  to  confound  the  citizen,  un- 
mindful of  his  rights,  with  the  enemy  he  ceases  to  op- 
pose. Commanding  men  who  know  their  rights,  and 
are  determined  to  defend  them,  he  salutes  you  as  bre- 
thren in  arms ;  and  has  now  a  new  motive  to  exert  all 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  28? 

his  faculties,  which  shall  be  strained  to  the  utmost  in 
your  defence.  Continue  with  the  energy  you  have 
begun,  and  he  promises  you  not  only  safety,  but  vic- 
tory over  an  insolent  foe,  who  has  insulted  you  by  an 
affected  doubt  of  your  attachment  to  the  constitution 
of  your  country.  Your  enemy  is  near ;  his  sails  al- 
ready cover  the  lakes :  but  the  brave  are  united  ;  and 
if  he  find  us  contending  among  ourselves,  it  will  be  for 
the  prize  of  valour, — and  fame,  its  noblest  reward." 

Resistance  on  the  lakes  being  at  an  end,  no  doubt 
was  entertained  but  that  the  moment  for  action  would 
be  as  early  as  the  enemy  could  make  his  preparations 
to  proceed.  At  what  point,  at  what  time,  and  with  a 
force  how  greatly  superior  to  his  own,  were  matters 
wholly  resting  in  uncertainty,  and  could  not  be  known 
until  they  should  actually  transpire.  The  means  for 
opposing  him,  therefore,  were  to  be  seized  on  without 
delay,  or  resistance  would  be  useless. 

That  the  hour  of  attack  was  not  far  distant,  was  con- 
firmed by  a  circumstance  which  reflects  no  consider- 
able honour  on  the  officer  in  command  of  the  fleet. 
The  day  subsequent  to  the  contest  on  the  lakes,  Mr. 
Shields,  purser  in  the  navy,  had  been  despatched  with 
a  flag,  to  Cat  island,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Murrell,  for 
the  purpose  of  alleviating  the  situation  of  our  wound- 
ed, and  to  effect  a  negotiation,  by  which  they  should 
be  liberated  on  parole.  We  are  not  aware  that  such 
an  application  militated  against  the  usages  and  customs 
of  war :  if  not,  the  flag  of  truce  should  have  been  re- 
spected ;  nor  ought  its  bearer  to  have  been  detained 
as  a  prisoner.  Admiral  Cochrane's  pretended  fear  that 


2S8  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

it  was  a  wile,  designed  to  ascertain  his  strength  and 
situation,  are  far  from  presenting  any  sufficient  excuse 
for  so  wanton  an  outrage  on  propriety  and  the  rules  of 
war.  If  this  were  apprehended,  could  not  the  messen- 
gers have  been  met  at  a  distance  from  the  fleet,  and 
ordered  back  without  a  near  approach  ?  Had  this  been 
done,  no  information  could  have  been  gained,  and  the 
object  designed  to  be  secured  by  the  detention  would 
have  been  answered,  without  infringing  that  amicable 
intercourse  between  contending  armies,  which,  when 
violated  or  disregarded,  opens  a  door  to  brutal  and 
Savage  warfare.  Finding  they  did  not  return,  the 
cause  of  it  was  at  once  correctly  divined. 

The  British  admiral  was  very  solicitous,  and  resort- 
ed to  various  means  to  obtain  from  these  gentlemen 
information  of  the  strength  and  condition  and  dispo- 
sition of  our  army ;  but  so  cautious  a  reserve  was  main- 
tained, that  from  them  nothing  could  be  elicited. 
Shields  was  perceived  to  be  quite  deaf,  and  calculating 
on  some  advantage  to  be  derived  from  this  circum- 
stance, he  and  the  Doctor  were  placed  at  night  in  the 
^reen  room,  where  any  conversation  which  occurred 
between  them  could  readily  be  heard.  Suspecting, 
perhaps,  something  of  the  kind,  after  having  retired, 
and  every  thing  was  seemingly  still,  they  began  to 
speak  of  their  situation — the  circumstance  of  their  be- 
ing detained,  arid  of  the  prudent  caution  with  which 
they  had  guarded  themselves  against  communicating 
any  information  to  the  British  admiral.  But,  continu- 
ed Shields,  how  greatly  these  gentlemen  will  be  dis- 
appointed in  their  expectations,  for  Jackson  with  the 
twenty  thousand  troops  he  now  has,  and  the  reinforce- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  289 

inents  from  Kentucky,  which  must  speedily  reach  him, 
will  be  able  to  destroy  any  force  that  can  be  landed 
from  these  ships.  Every  word  was  heard,  and  treasur- 
ed, and  not  supposing  there  was  any  design,  or  that 
he  presumed  himself  overheard,  they  were  beguiled  by 
it,  and  at  once  concluded  our  force  to  be  as  great  as  it 
was  represented ;  and  hence  no  doubt  arose,  the  rea- 
son of  that  prudent  care  and  caution  with  which  the 
enemy  afterwards  proceeded ;  for,  as  was  remarked  by 
a  British  officer,  the  actual  strength  of  general  Jack- 
son's army,  though  repeatedly  sought  after,  could  nev- 
er be  procured ;  it  was  a  desideratum  not  to  be  ob- 
tained. 

Early  on  the  15th,  the  morning  after  the  battle  on 
the  lake,  expresses  were  sent  off  up  the  coast,  in 
quest  of  general  Coffee,  to  endeavour  to  procure  in- 
formation of  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  divisions, 
which  it  was  hoped  were  not  far  distant,  and  to  urge 
their  speedy  approach.  In  his  communication  to  Cof- 
fee, the  general  observes,  "You  must  not  sleep,  until 
you  reach  me,  or  arrive  within  striking  distance. 
Your  accustomed  activity  is  looked  for.  Innumeral^e 
defiles  present  themselves,  where  your  services  and  ri- 
flemen will  be  all  important.  An  opportunity  is  at 
liand,  to  reap  for  yourself  and  brigade  the  approbation 
of  your  country." 

In  obedience  to  the  order  he  had  received  at  Mo- 
bile, to  occupy  some  central  position,  where  his  horses 
could  be  subsisted,  and  whence  he  might  act  as  cir- 
cumstances should  require,  Coffee  had  proceeded  as 
far  as  Sandy  creek,  a  small  distance  above  Baton 

2  o 


290  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

Rouge,  where  he  had  halted.  His  brigade,  on  its 
march,  had  been  greatly  exposed,  and  many  and  va- 
rious hardships  encountered.  The  cold  season  had  set 
in ;  and,  for  twenty  days  it  had  rained  incessantly. 
The  waters  were  raised  to  uncommon  heights,  and 
every  creek  and  bayou  was  to  be  bridged  or  swam. 
Added  to  this,  their  march  was  through  an  unculti- 
vated country,  but  thinly  settled,  where  little  subsist- 
ence was  to  be  had,  and  that  procured  with  much  diffi- 
culty. He  had  been  at  this  place  eight  or  ten  days, 
when,  late  on  the  evening  of  the  17th,  the  express  de- 
spatched from  head-quarters  reached  him.  He  lost  no 
time  in  executing  the  order ;  and,  directing  one  of  his 
regiments,  which,  for  the  greater  convenience  of  for- 
aging, had  encamped  about  six  miles  off,  to  unite  with 
him,  he  was  ready  in  the  morning,  and  proceeded  on 
his  march  the  instant  it  arrived.  In  consequence  of 
innumerable  exposures,  there  were,  at  this  time,  three 
hundred  on  the  sick  list.  These  being  left,  he  com- 
menced his  advance  with  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
men.  The  weather  yet  continued  extremely  cold  and 
rainy,  which  prevented  their  proceeding  with  the  ce- 
lerity the  exigency  of  the  moment  so  much  required. 
Coffee,  perceiving  that  the  movement  of  his  whole 
force  in  a  body,  would  perhaps  occasion  delays,  ruin- 
ous to  the  main  object  in  view,  ordered  all  who  were 
well  mounted,  and  able  to  proceed,  to  advance  with 
him ;  while  the  rest  of  his  brigade,  under  suitable  offi- 
cers, were  left  to  follow  as  fast  as  the  weak  and  ex- 
hausted condition  of  their  horses  would  permit.  His 
force,  by  this  arrangement,  was  reduced  to  eight  hun- 
dred men,  with  whom  he  moved  with  the  utmost  in- 
dustry. Having  marched  seventy  miles  the  last  day, 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  291 

he  encamped  on  the  night  of  the  19th,  within  fifteen 
miles  of  New  Orleans,  making  in  two  days  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  Continuing  his  ad- 
vance, early  next  morning,  he  halted  within  four  miles 
of  the  city,  to  examine  the  state  and  condition  of  his 
arms,  and  to  learn,  in  the  event  the  enemy  had  landed, 
the  relative  position  of  the  two  armies. 
. 

These  brave  men,  without  murmuring,  had  now 
traversed  an  extent  of  country  nothing  short  of  eight 
hundred  miles,  and  under  trials  sufficiently  severe  to 
have  appalled  the  most  resolute  and  determined.  They 
had  enrolled  themselves,  not  as  volunteers  sometimes 
do,  to  frolic,  and  by  peaceable  campaigns  to  gain  a 
name  in  arms — they  had  done  it  knowing  that  an  ene- 
my, if  not  already  at  hand,  was  certainly  expected, 
with  whom  they  would  have  to  contend,  and  contend 
severely.  Great  reliance  was  had  on  them  by  the 
commanding  general ;  and  their  good  conduct,  in  the 
different  situations  in  which  they  had  acted  with  him, 
was  a  proof  how  much  they  deserved  it.  On  inspect- 
ing their  arms,  which  consisted  principally  of  rifles, 
two  hundred  were  discovered  to  be  so  materially  in- 
jured by  the  weather,  as  to  be  unfit  for  service. 

The  advance  of  colonel  Hinds,  from  Woodville, 
with  the  Mississippi  dragoons,  was  no  less  prompt  and 
expeditious ;  an  active  and  brave  officer,  he  was,  on 
this,  as  on  all  other  occasions,  at  his  post,  ready  to 
act  as  circumstances  should  require.  Having  re- 
ceived his  orders,  he  hastened  forward,  and  effected 
in  four  days,  a  march  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles. 


292  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

On  the  1 6th,  colonel  Hynes,  aid-de-camp  to  general 
Carroll,  reached  head-quarters,  with  information  from 
the  general,  that  he  would  be  present  as  early  as 
possible ;  but  that  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  high 
and  contrary  winds,  greatly  retarded  his  progress.  To 
remedy  this,  a  steam  boat  was  immediately  put  in  re- 
quisition, and  ordered  to  proceed  up  the  river  to  aid 
him  in  reaching  his  destination,  without  loss  of  time. 
He  was  advised  of  the  necessity  of  hastening  rapidly 
forward  ;  that  the  lakes  were  in  possession  of  the  ene- 
my, and  their  arrival  daily  looked  for  :  "  But,"  con- 
tinued Jackson,  "  I  am  resolved,  feeble  as  my  force  is, 
to  assail  him,  on  his  first  landing,  and  perish  sooner 
than  he  shall  reach  the  city." 

Independent  of  the  large  force  which  was  descend- 
ing with  general  Carroll,  his  approach  was  looked  to 
with  additional  pledfsure,  from  the  circumstance  of  his 
having  with  him  a  boat  laden  with  arms,  destined  for 
the  defence  of  the  country,  and  which  he  had  over- 
taken on  his  passage  down  the  Mississippi.  His  fall- 
ing in  with  them  was  fortunate ;  for,  had  their  arrival 
depended  on  those  to  whom  they  had  been  incautious- 
ly confided,  they  might  have  come  too  late,  and  after 
all  danger  had  subsided ;  as  was  indeed  the  case  with 
others,  forwarded  from  Pittsburg,  which,  through  the 
unpardonable  conduct  of  those  who  had  been  entrust- 
ed with  their  management  and  transportation,  did  not 
reach  New  Orleans  until  after  all  difficulties  had  ter- 
minated. Great  inconvenience  was  sustained,  during 
the  siege,  for  want  of  arms  to  place  in  the  hands  of 
the  militia.  Great  as  it  was,  it  w^ould  have  been  in- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  293 

creased,  even  to  an  alarming  extent,  but  for  the  acci- 
dental circumstance  of  this  boat  having  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Tennessee  division,  which  impelled  it  on, 
and  thereby  produced  incalculable  advantage.* 

*  On  the  first  intimation  that  the  British  intended  a  descent  on  this 
section  of  the  United  States,  general  Jackson  suggested  to  the  secre- 
tary of  war  the  scarcity  of  both  arms  and  ordnance,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  having  the  deficiency  remedied  as  soon  as  possible.  Mr. 
Monroe,  then  secretary  of  war,  had  given  the  earliest  attention  to 
the  subject,  and  ordered  an  ample  supply  to  be  embarked  from 
Pittsburg,  sufficiently  early  to  have  reached  head-quarters  previous- 
ly to  the  enemy's  landing.  Their  transportation  down  the  western 
waters  had  been  confided  to  those  who  felt  not  sufficient  concern 
for  their  speedy  arrival  to  use  the  necessary  diligence.  Whether 
the  government  had  given  any  such  orders,  or  it  were  a  piece  of  pen- 
ny-wise economy  suggested  by  the  quarter-master,  we  do  not  know- 
The  fact,  however,  is,  that  a  steam  vessel,  sailing  with  much  expe- 
dition, proposed  to  carry  and  deliver  them  at  New  Orleans  in  eigh- 
teen days,  which  would  have  been  in  time  for  all  the  purposes  after- 
wards needed.  But  the  officer  who  had  the  management  of  this  bu- 
siness, because  it  was  in  his  power  to  save  an  inconsiderable  sum  in 
freight,  preferred  delivering  them  to  the  captain  of  a  large  flat  bot- 
tomed boat,  which  moved  slowly,  and  which,  withal,  it  was  under- 
stood, would  occasionally  stop  on  the  way  to  traffic  and  trade  off  the 
different  articles  with  which  she  was  laden.  On  all  occasions,  we 
would  commend  the  doctrine  of  economy,  when  founded  on  correct 
principles :  but  that  minister  or  agent  of  the  government,  who,  to 
save  a  partial  expense,  hazards  the  loss  of  thousands;  or  whot 
through  parsimonious  views  of  any  kind  whatever,  risks  the  loss  of  a 
whole  country,  evidences  so  weak  and  narrow-sighted  a  policy,  a* 
can  on  no  ground  be  justified.  This  single  circumstance,  if  argument 
were  necessary  to  establish  it,  is  sufficient  to  show  the  correctness  of 
the  position.  The  general,  in  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  war,  after 
the  battle  of  the  8th,  remarks,  that  if  he  had  had  a  sufficiency  of 
arms,  he  would  have  captured  or  destroyed  the  whole  British  army ; 
and  this  he  might  have  had,  if  the  agents  of  the  government  had  exe- 
cuted the  duties  confided  to  them  on  a  scale  enlarged  and  liberal  a* 
the  crisis  demanded. 


294  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

This  division,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  had  left 
Nashville  on  the  19th  of  last  month.  Their  exertionsy 
without  which  they  could  not  have  arrived  in  time  to 
afford  that  assistance  and  protection  which  the  peril 
of  the  moment  so  much  required,  entitle  them  and 
their  commander  to  every  gratitude.  But  above  all 
is  our  gratitude  due  to  that  benign  Providence,  who, 
having  aided  in  the  establishment  of  our  glorious  in- 
dependence, again  manifested  his  goodness  and  power 
in  guarding  the  rights  of  a  country  rendered  sacred 
by  the  blood  of  the  virtuous,  heretofore  shed  in  its 
defence.  It  rarely,  if  ever  happens,  that  the  Cumber- 
land river  admits  a  passage  for  boats  so  early  in  the 
season ;  but  torrents  of  rain  descending  swelled  the 
stream,  and  wafted  our  troops  safely  to  the  Mississippi, 
where  all  obstructions  were  at  an  end.  An  appre- 
hension entertained  lest  the  blow  might  be  stricken, 
and  the  injury  done,  before  they  could  reach  their 
destined  point,  had  inspired  our  troops  with  an  alacrity 
and  exertion  which  brought  them  to  the  place  of 
danger  and  usefulness,  in  a  shorter  period  of  time 
than  even  traders  had  usually  employed,  when  hur- 
rying with  their  produce  to  market 

While  these  preparations  were  progressing,  to  con- 
centrate the  forces  within  his  reach,  the  general  was 
turning  his  attention  to  ward  off  any  blow  that  might 
be  aimed  before  his  expected  reinforcements  should 
arrive.  Every  point,  capable  of  being  successfully  as- 
sailed, was  receiving  such  additional  strength  and 
security  as  could  be  given.  Patroles  and  videttes  were 
ranged  through  the  country,  that  the  earliest  intelli- 
gence might  be  had  of  any  intended  movement  The 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  295 

militia  of  the  state  were  called  out  en  masse ;  and, 
through  the  interference  of  the  legislature,  an  em- 
bargo on  vessels  at  the  port  of  New  Orleans  was  de- 
clared, to  afford  an  opportunity  of  procuring  additional 
recruits  for  the  navy.  General  Villery,  because  an 
inhabitant  of  the  country,  and  best  understanding  the 
several  points  on  the  lakes  susceptible  of,  and  re- 
quiring defence,  was  ordered,  with  the  Louisiana 
militia,  to  search  out,  and  give  protection  to  the  dif- 
ferent passes,  where  a  landing  might"  be  effected. 

To  hinder  the  enemy  from  obtaining  supplies  on 
the  shore,  a  detachment  was  sent  to  Pearl  river,  to 
prevent  any  parties  from  landing  until  the  stock  could 
be  driven  from  the  neighbourhood.  The  precaution, 
for  some  time  used,  of  restricting  the  departure  of 
any  vessel  with  provisions,  under  the  operation  of  the 
embargo  imposed  by  the  legislature,  had  greatly  dis- 
appointed the  expectations  of  the  British,  and  even 
introduced  distress  into  Pensacola,  whence  the  Spa- 
niards had  been  in  the  habit  of  procuring  their  sup- 
plies. The  governor  had  solicited  the  opening  a  com- 
munication, for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  inhabitants 
of  his  province.  Jackson  was  aware  that  this  appeal 
to  his  humanity  might  be  a  stratagem,  having  for  its 
object  to  aid  the  enemy.  Although  the  governor, 
hitherto,  had  given  no  flattering  evidence,  either  of 
his  friendship,  his  candour,  or  sincerity,  still  the  state- 
ment offered  by  him  might  be  correct ;  and  if  so,  the 
neutrality  of  his  country  established  a  well-founded 
claim  to  the  benevolence  of  the  Americans.  Balancing 
between  a  desire  that  these  people  should  not  be  se- 
riously injured,  and  a  fear  that  the  application  was  in- 


296  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

tended  for  a  very  different  purpose  than  was  avowed, 
he  determined  to  err  on  the  side  of  mercy,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  relieve  their  wants.  This  he  directed 
general  Winchester,  at  Mobile,  to  effect,  provided  his 
stock  of  provisions  would  permit  it.  It  was  particu- 
larly enjoined  on  him  that  the  quantity  of  provisions 
sent  should  be  small,  and  be  conveyed  by  water :  "  For 
if,"  said  he,  "  the  Spaniards  are  really  in  distress,  and 
the  supply  sent  shall  be  taken  by  the  British,  it  will 
excite  their  just  indignation  towards  them,  and  erase 
all  friendship,  while  they  will  be  afforded  an  additional 
proof  of  ours:  the  supply  too  being  inconsiderable, 
even  if  captured,  will  prove  of  no  great  benefit  to  our 
enemy." 

Jackson's  arrangements  were  well  conceived,  and 
rapidly  progressing ;  but  they  were  still  insufficient ; 
and  his  own  forebodings  assured  him,  that,  to  obtain 
security,  something  stronger  than  had  been  yet  re- 
sorted to,  required  to  be  adopted.  That  there  was 
an  enemy  in  the  midst  of  his  camp,  more  to  be  feared 
than  those  who  were  menacing  from  abroad,  was  in- 
deed highly,  nay  more  than  probable  ;  while  an  appre- 
hension indulged,  that  there  were  many  foreigners, 
who,  feeling  no  attachment  for  the  country,  and  having 
nothing  to  defend,  would  not  scruple  to  avail  them- 
selves of  every  opportunity  to  give  intelligence  of  the 
strength,  situation,  and  arrangement  of  his  camp,  excit- 
ed his  fears,  and  induced  a  wish  to  apply  the  earliest 
possible  corrective.  A  stranger  himself,  his  own  con- 
jectures might  not  have  led  to  the  conclusion ;  but 
information  received,  before  and  soon  after  .his  arrival, 
through  different  channels,  and  particularly  from  the 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  297 

governor  of  the  state,  had  awakened  a  belief,  that  the 
country  was  filled  with  disaffected  persons,  and  who, 
if  not  closely  guarded,  might  occasion  the  worst  of 
consequences.  Although  he  had  been  in  possession 
of  data,  sufficiently  strong  to  confirm  him  in  the 
opinion,  that  the  facts  and  circumstances  disclosed 
were  of  a  character  truly  as  had  been  represented, 
until  now,  no  urgent  necessity  had  arisen,  rendering 
a  resort  to  rigid  measures  essential  to  the  general 
safety.  Abundant  evidence  of  prevailing  disaffection 
had  been  already  obtained,  through  governor  Clai- 
borne.  In  a  letter  to  general  Jackson,  after  his  return 
from  Pensacola,  he  observed,  "  Enemies  to  the  coun- 
try may  blame  your  prompt  and  energetic  measures ; 
but  in  the  person  of  every  patriot,  you  will  find  a  sup- 
porter. I  am  well  aware  of  the  lax  police  of  this  city, 
and  indeed  of  the  whole  state,  with  respect  to  stran- 
gers. I  think,  with  you,  that  our  country  is  filled 
"  with  traitors  and  spies."  On  this  subject,  I  have 
written  pressingly  to  the  city  authorities  and  parish 
judges.  Some  regulations,  I  hope,  will  be  adopted  by  . 
the  first,  and  greater  vigilance  be  exercised,  in  future,  . 
by  the  latter." 

Never,  perhaps,  all  the  circumstances  considered, 
did  any  general  advance  to  the  defence  and  protection 
of  a  people  situated  in  his  own  country,  where  greater 
room  was  had  to  distrust  the  success  of  the  event,  and 
believe  all  efforts  hopeless.  That  there  should  be 
found,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  an  inconsiderable 
few  who  would  not  withhold  their  assent  to  a  change 
in  the  form  of  any  government,  under  which  they 
might  live,  is  not  a  circumstance  to  excite  surprise. 

2p 


298  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

Some  might  be  induced  to  it,  if  for  no  other  reason,  to 
alter  a  condition  in  life,  which  if  not  improved,  could 
not  be  rendered  worse  :  and  in  our  country  particular- 
ly, where  foreigners  are  freely  and  readily  admitted  to 
all  our  rights  and  privileges,  many  of  whom  have  been 
allured,  not  by  attachment,  but  from  motives  of  cupid- 
ity, shall  we  ever  have  cause,  perhaps,  to  regret  a 
want  of  union  and  energy  at  those  periods  when  they 
may  be  mostly  needed.     But,  that  disaffection  should 
ever  be  found  in  our  national  councils,  is  a  source  of 
increased  regret,  and  causes  it  to  assume  a  character 
of  deeper  danger.     When,  therefore,  general  Jackson 
was  informed  by  the  governor,  that  the  legislature,  in- 
stead of  discharging  with  alacrity,  diligence,  and  good 
faith,  the  duties  which  had  been  confided  to  them  by 
their  constituents,  had,  under  the  garb  of  privilege, 
endeavoured  to  mar  the  execution  of  measures  the 
most  salutary,  he  might  well  conclude  the  country  in 
danger,  and  suspect  a  want  of  fidelity  in  her  citizens. 
Upon  the  yeomanry  alone  must  every  country  depend 
for  its  liberty :  they  are  its  sinews  and  its  strength. 
Let  them  continue  virtuous,  and  they  will  cheerfully, 
nay,  fearlessly,  maintain  themselves  against  aggression; 
but  if  they  become  corrupted,  or  through  the  intrigue 
or  mjsconduct  of  their  rulers  loose  confidence  in  their 
government,  forthwith  their  importance  and  value  will 
be  impaired.  While  the  people  of  Rome  felt  themselves 
freemen,  and  proud  of  the  name  of  citizens,  Rome  was 
invincible;  and  to  descend  to  times  more  modern,  the 
strength  of  France  was  an  overmatch  for  combined 
Europe,  only  while  Frenchmen  had  confidence  in;  and 
regard  for  their  government,  and  felt  that  they  w^ere  a, 
part  of  it          * 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 


Although  we  would  gladly  draw  a  veil  over  the  con- 
duct of  the  legislative  body  of  Louisiana,  and  forgive 
the  error,  yet  it  is  difficult,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  forget 
that  on  a  former  occasion,  at  a  moment  of  threatened 
and  expected  danger,  they  exerted  themselves  against 
the  establishment  of  any  system  of  defence.  General 
Flournoy  at  that  time  commanded.  Apprehending 
invasion,  he  applied  to  the  governor  for  whatever  aid 
the  state  could  afford.  Constitutional  resources  were 
attempted  and  an  effort  made  to  draw  out  the  mili- 
tia ;  they  resisted  the  requisition  :  and  that  resistance 
so  far  from  being  discountenanced  by  the  legislature 
then  in  session,  was  promoted  and  encouraged  by  their 
assuming  to  themselves  the  right  of  declaring  the  de- 
mand to  be  illegal,  unnecessary,  and  oppressive.  When 
popular  resentment  is  once  awakened,  and  opposition 
to  measures,  however  proper,  once  begun,  the  slightest 
encouragement  impels  it  forward  ;  but  when  the  au- 
thorities of  a  state  become  abettors,  and  by  their  con- 
duct and  expressions  give  it  sanction,  the  delusion  is 
increased,  and  forthwith  it  swells  beyond  the  bounds 
where  reason  can  control.  Thus  supported,  the  mili- 
tia, as  might  have  been  expected,  stood  their  ground, 
and  resolutely  resisted  the  call  to  defend  their  coun- 
try. The  example  thus  established  had  already  in- 
duced the  conviction  that  they  were  privileged  per- 
sons, and  had  reserved  to  them,  on  all  occasions,  when 
called  for,  the  right  of  determining  if  the  call  were  re- 
gular, why  and  wherefore  made,  where  they  would 
prefer  to  act,  and  be  governed  accordingly.  When, 
therefore,  the  first  requisition  made  by  Jackson  was 
attempted  to  be  filled,  a  number  made  a  tender  of  their 
services  as  volunteers  ;  but  OH  this  condition,  that  they 


300  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

were  not  to  be  marched  from  the  state.  The  reply 
made,  showed  they  were  to  act  with  a  general  who 
knew  nothing  of  temporizing  policy,  and  who  would 
go  the  entire  length  that  safety  and  necessity  required, 
and  his  powers  permitted.  They  were  assured  his  ob- 
ject was  to  defend  the  country,  and  that  he  should  do 
it  at  every  hazard  ;  that  soldiers  who  entered  the  ranks 
with  him  to  fight  the  battles  of  their  country,  must  for- 
get the  habits  of  social  life,  and  be  willing  and  prepar- 
ed to  go  wherever  duty  and  danger  called ;  such  were 
the  kind  of  troops  he  wanted,  and  none  others  would 
he  have. 

i 

Influenced  by  these  and  other  weighty  considera- 
tions, which  were  daily  disclosed;  sensible  of  the  dan- 
ger that  surrounded  him ;  and  from  a  conviction  which 
he  felt  was  founded  not  upon  light  considerations,  that 
the  country  without  a  most  decisive  course  could  not 
be  saved,  he  brought  to  the  view  of  the  legislature 
the  propriety  and  necessity  of  suspending  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus.  To  attempt  himself  so  new  and  bold 
a  course,  he  was  satisfied  would  draw  to  him  the  re- 
proofs and  censures  of  the  orthodox  politicians  of  the 
day,  and  involve  him  in  many  and  various  reproaches^ 
The  legislature  had  already  interrupted  the  commerce 
by  declaring  and  enforcing  an  embargo  ;  and  the  ex- 
ercise of  this  subsequent  authority,  equally  necessary 
with  the  first,  could  involve,  he  supposed,  no  higher 
exercise  of  power  than  the  enactment  of  an  embargo 
law.  He  was  solicitous,  therefore,  to  relieve  himself 
of  the  responsibility,  by  prevailing  on  the  legislature 
to  do  that  which  necessity  and  the  security  of  the 
country.^eeinei  imperiously  to  require.  They  pro- 


JLIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  301 

ceeded  slowly  to  the  investigation,  and  were  deli- 
berating, with  great  caution,  upon  their  right,  author- 
ity, and  constitutional  power  to  adopt  such  a  mea- 
sure, when  the  general,  sensible  that  procrastination 
was  dangerous,  and  might  defeat  the  objects  intended 
to  be  answered,  assumed  all  responsibility,  and  super- 
seded their  deliberations  by  declaring  the  city  and 
environs  of  New  Orleans  under  martial  law. 

All  persons  entering  the  city  were  required,  imme- 
diately, to  report  themselves  to  the  adjutant-general ; 
and  on  failing  to  do  so,  were  to  be  arrested  and  de- 
tained for  examination.  None  were  to  depart  from  it, 
or  be  suffered  to  pass  beyond  the  chain  of  sentinels, 
but  by  permission  from  the  commanding  general,  or 
one  of  the  staff :  nor  was  any  vessel  or  craft  to  be  per- 
mitted to  sail  on  the  river,  or  the  lakes,  but  by  the  same 
authority,  or  a  passport  signed  by  the  commander  of 
the  naval  forces. 

The  lamps  were  to  be  extinguished  at  nine  o'clock 
at  night ;  after  which  time,  all  persons  found  in  the 
streets,  or  from  their  respective  homes,  without  per- 
mission in  writing,  signed  as  above,  were  to  be  arrest- 
ed as  spies,  and  detained  for  examination. 

At  a  crisis  so  important,  and  from  a  persuasion  that 
the  country,  in  its  menaced  situation,  could  not  be 
preserved  by  the  exercise  of  any  ordinary  powers,  he 
believed  it  best  to  adopt  a  course  that  should  be  effi- 
cient, even  if  it  partially  endangered  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  citizen.  He  proclaimed  martial  law, 
believing  necessity  and  policy  requited  it :  y  Under 


302  „       LIFE  Or  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

a  solemn  conviction  that  the  country,  committed  to 
his  care,  could  by  such  a  measure  alone  be  saved  from 
utter  ruin;  and  from  a  religious  belief,  that  he  was 
performing  the  most  important  and  sacred  duty.  By 
it,  he  intended  to  supersede  such  civil  powers,  as,  in 
their  operation,  interfered  with  those  he  was  obliged 
to  exercise.  He  thought  that,  at  such  a  moment,  con- 
stitutional forms  should  be  suspended,  for  the  preser- 
vation of  constitutional  rights ;  and  that  there  could  be 
no  question,  whether  it  were  better  to  depart,  for  a 
moment,  from  the  enjoyment  of  our  dearest  privileges, 
or  to  have  them  wrested  from  us  forever." 

This  rigid  course,  however,  was  by  no  means  well 
received.  Whether  it  had  for  its  object  good  or  evil ; 
whether  springing  from  necessity,  or  from  a  spirit  of 
oppression  in  its  author,  with  many,  was  not  a  mate- 
rial question :  it  was  sufficient  for  them  to  consider  it 
an  infraction  of  the  law,  to  excite  their  warmest  op- 
position ;  whilst  the  long  approved  doctrine  of  neces- 
sitas  rei  afforded  no  substantial  argument  to  induce  a 
conviction  of  its  propriety.  Whether  the  civil  should 
yield  to  military  law,  or  which  should  have  control, 
with  those  whose  anxious  wishes  were  the  safety  of 
the  state,  was  not  a  matter  of  deep  or  serious  concern; 
but  to  busy  politicians,  and  lukewarm  breasts,  it  open- 
ed a  field  for  investigation :  and  many  a  fire-side  pa- 
triot had  arguments  at  command,  to  prove  it  an  usur- 
pation of  power,  an  outrage  upon  government,  and  a 
violation  of  the  constitution.  During  the  invasion, 
and  while  affairs  of  major  importance  impended,  no 
occasion  was  presented  of  testing  its  correctness ;  but 
soon  as  the  enefny  had  retired,  and  before  it  was  as- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  303 

certained,  whether,  at  some  more  fortunate  and  less 
guarded  point,  they  might  not  return,  to  renew  those 
efforts  which  had  so  lately  failed,  Dominick  A.  Hall, 
judge  of  the  United  States  court  for  this  district,  de- 
termined to  wage  a  war  of  authority,  and  to  have 
decided,  if,  in  any  event,  the  civil  power  could  be 
deprived  of  supremacy.  Jackson  presumed  his  time 
of  too  much  importance,  at  so  momentous  a  period,  to 
be  wasted  in  the  discussion  of  civil  matters.  He  gave 
to  it,  therefore,  the  only  attention  which  he  believed 
its  officiousness  merited,  and  instead  of  obeying  the 
command,  arrested  and  ordered  the  judge  to  leave  the 
city.  Peace  being  presently  restored,  and  danger  over, 
the  judge  renewed  the  contest ;  and  causing  the  gene- 
ral to  appear  before  him,  on  a  process  of  contempt, 
for  detaining  and  refusing  to  obey  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which  had  been  directed  to  him,  amerced  him 
in  a  fine  of  a  thousand  dollars.  How  far  he  was  ac- 
tuated by  correct  motives,  in  exclusion  to  those  feel- 
ings which  sometimes  estrange  the  judgment,  his  own 
conscience  can  determine ;  and  how  far  his  proceed- 
ings were  fair  and  liberal,  will  appear  hereafter,  when, 
in  proper  order,  we  shall  be  brought  to  examine  this 
prosecution.  For  the  present,  we  are  confident,  that 
if  ever  there  was  a  case  that  could  justify  or  excuse  a 
departure  from  the  law,  its  features  were  not  stronger 
than  those  which  influenced  general  Jackson,  on  the 
present  occasion,  in  suspending  the  rights  of  the  citi- 
zens. If  judge  Hall  were  impelled  to  the  course  he 
took,  in  defence  of  the  violated  dignity  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  to  protect  the  rights  of  a  government, 
whose  judicial  powers  he  represented,  whether  right 
or  wrong,  he  deserves  not  censure ;  although  it  might 


304  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

be  well  replied,  that  an  infinitely  fairer  and  more  glo- 
rious opportunity  of  showing  his  devotedness  to  his 
country  had  just  passed,  when  he  might  truly  have 
aided  in  defence  of  her  honour,  nor  left  even  room  for 
his  motives  to  have  been  unfairly  appreciated. 

This  strong  and  efficient  measure  had  not  been 
resorted  to  from  the  mere  anticipation  of  danger; 
already  sufficient  causes  existed;  and  intrigue  and 
stratagem  were  busily  winding  their  way  into  our 
camp  :  they  were  either  to  be  put  down,  or  every  hope 
of  opposition  and  successful  resistance  abandoned. 
England,  never  at  a  loss  for  varnished  statements,  to 
give  plausibility  to  her  views,  not  only  held  forth  the 
idea  that  she  had  come  to  restore  the  inhabitants  to 
higher  privileges  than  they  enjoyed,  but,  to  render  the 
delusion  still  more  complete,  through  her  emissaries, 
propagated  the  belief,  that,  as  the  friend  of  Spain,  she 
had  come  to  restore  West  Florida  to  its  rightful 
owner,  and  the  citizens  to  their  lawful  sovereign.  Com- 
posed, as  our  army  at  this  time  was,  of  heterogeneous 
materials,  Frenchmen,  Spaniards,  and  natives,  it  re- 
quired constant  efforts  to  keep  alive  excitement,  and 
to  ward  off  despondency.  Learning  the  rumours  that 
had  been  propagated,  and  fearing  lest  they  might  have 
an  injurious  tendency,  Jackson  immediately  circulated 
an  address  to  his  troops,  in  which  he  sought  to  coun- 
teract the  effect,  and  preserve  their  ardour  and  devo- 
tion to  their  country. 

"  Believe  not,"  he  observed,  "  that  the  threatened 
invasion  is  with  a  view  to  restore  the  country  to  Spain. 
It  is  founded  in  design,  and  a  supposition  that  you 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  305 

would  be  willing  to  return  to  your  ancient  govern- 
ment. Listen  not  to  such  incredible  tales :  your  go- 
vernment is  at  peace  with  Spain.  It  is  your  vital 
enemy,  the  common  enemy  of  mankind,  the  highway 
robber  of  the  world,  that  has  sent  his  hirelings  among 
you,  to  put  you  from  your  guard,  that  you  may  fall  an 
easier  prey.  Then  look  to  your  liberty,  your  pro- 
perty, the  chastity  of  your  wives  and  daughters.  Take 
a  retrospect  of  the  conduct  of  the  British  army  at 
Hampton,  and  at  other  places  where  it  has  entered 
our  country — and  every  bosom,  which  glows  with  pa*- 
triotism  and  virtue,  will  be  inspired  with  indignation, 
and  pant  for  the  arrival  of  the  hour  when  we  shall 
meet  and  revenge  those  outrages  against  the  laws  of 
civilization  and  humanity." 

With  the  exception  of  the  Kentucky  troops,  which 
were  yet  absent,  all  the  forces  expected  had  arrived. 
General  Carroll  had  reached  Coffee's  encampment, 
four  miles  above  the  city,  on  the  21st,  and  had  imme- 
diately reported  to  the  commanding  general.  The 
officers  were  busily  engaged  in  drilling,  manoeuvring, 
and  organizing  the  troops,  and  in  having  every  thing 
ready  for  action,  the  moment  it  should  become  neces- 
sary. No  doubt  was  entertained,  but  the  British 
would  be  able  to  effect  a  landing  at  some  point :  the 
principal  thing  to  be  guarded  against  was  not  to  pre- 
vent it;  for,  since  the  loss  of  the  gun-boats,  any  at- 
tempt of  this  kind  could  only  be  regarded  as  hopeless : 
but,  by  preserving  a  constant  vigilance,  and  thereby 
having  the  earliest  intelligence  of  their  approach,  they 
might  be  met  at  the  very  threshold,  and  opposed. 
Small  guard  boats  were  constantly  plying  on  the  lakes, 


306  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

to  watch,  and  give  information  of  every  movement 
Some  of  these  had  come  in,  late  on  the  evening  of  the 
22d,  and  reported  that  all  was  quiet,  and  that  no  un- 
favourable appearance  portended  in  that  direction. 
With  such  vigilance,  constantly  exercised,  it  is  truly 
astonishing  that  the  enemy  should  have  effected  an  in- 
vasion, and  succeeded  in  disembarking  so  large  a 
force,  without  the  slightest  intimation  being  had,  until 
they  were  accidentally  discovered  emerging  from  the 
swamp  and  woods,  about  seven  miles  below  the  city : 
why  it  so  happened,  traitors  may  conjecture,  although 
the  truth  is  yet  unknown.  The  general  impression  vis, 
that  it  was  through  information  given  by  a  small  party 
of  Spanish  fishermen,  that  so  secret  a  disembarkation 
was  effected.  Several  of  them  had  settled  at  the 
mouth  of  this  bayou,  and  supported  themselves  by 
fish  which  they  caught,  and  vended  in  the  market  at 
New  Orleans.  Obstructions,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  had  been  ordered  to  be  made  on  every  inlet, 
and  the  Louisiana  militia  been  despatched  for  that  pur- 
pose. This  place  had  not  received  the  attention  its 
importance  merited:  nor  was  it  until  the  22d,  that 
general  Villery,  charged  with  the  execution  of  this 
order,  had  placed  here  a  small  detachment  of  men* 
Towards  day,  the  enemy,  silently  proceeding  up  the 
bayou,  landed,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  whole 
of  this  party,  but  two,  who  fleeing  to  the  swamp,  en- 
deavoured to  reach  the  city ;  but,  owing  to  the  thick 
undergrowth  and  briars,  which  rendered  it  almost  im- 
pervious, they  did  not  arrive  until  after  the  enemy 
had  reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  been 
discovered. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOK.  307 

Bayou  Bienvenu,  through  which  the  British  effected 
a  landing,  is  an  arm  of  considerable  width,  stretching 
towards  the  Mississippi  from  lake  Borgne,  and  about 
fifteen  miles  south-east  of  New  Orleans.  It  had  been 
reported  to  general  Jackson  on  the  23d,  that,  on  the 
day  before,  several  strange  sail  had  been  descried  off 
Terre  au  Boeuf.  To  ascertain  correctly  the  truth  of 
the  statement,  majors  Tatum  and  Latour,  topographi- 
cal engineers,  had  been  sent  off,  with  orders  to  pro- 
ceed in  that  direction,  and  learn  if  any  thing  were  at- 
tempting there.  It  was  towards  noon  of  the  23d,  when 
they  started.  Approaching  general  Villery's  planta- 
tion, and  perceiving  at  a  distance,  soldiers,  and  persons 
fleeing  hastily  away,  they  at  once  supposed  the  enemy 
had  arrived.  What,  however,  was  but  surmise,  was 
presently,  and  on  nearer  observation,  rendered  cer- 
tain ;  and  it  was  now  no  longer  a  doubt,  but  that  the 
British  had  landed,  in  considerable  force,  and  had  ac- 
tually gained,  unobserved,  the  house  of  general  Villery, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they  had  sur- 
prised and  made  prisoners,  a  company  of  militia,  there 
posted. 

Major  Tatum,  hastening  back,  announced  his  dis- 
covery. Preparations  to  act  were  immediately  made 
by  general  Jackson.  Believing  that  to  act  speedily, 
was  of  the  highest  importance,  the  signal  guns  were 
fired,  and  expresses  sent  forward,  to  concentrate  his 
forces ;  resolving  that  night  to  meet  the  invaders  and 
try  his  own  and  their  firmness. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

General  Jackson  concentrates  his  forces,  and  marches  tofght  the  enemy. — 
Alarms  of  the  city. — Anecdote. — Mode  of  attack,  and  battle  of  the  23c? 
of  December. — British  reinforcements  arrive  during  the  action. — Ar- 
rival of  general  CarroWs  division. — Our  army  retires  from  the  field. — 
Effects  of  this  battle. — Jackson  establishes  a  line  of  defence. — General 
Morgan  is  ordered  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi. — Destruction 
and  loss  of  the  Caroline  schooner. — Battle  of  the  28th  December. — 
Conduct  of  the  legislature  of  Louisiana;  their  deliberations  suspended. — 
Scarcity  of  arms  in  the  American  camp. — Col.  Hinds. 

THE  hour  to  test  the  bravery  of  his  troops  had  now 
arrived.  The  approach  of  the  enemy,  flushed  with  the 
hope  of  easy  victory,  was  announced  to  Jackson  a  little 
after  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  There  were  too 
many  reasons,  assuring  him  of  the  necessity  of  acting 
speedily,  to  hesitate  a  moment  on  the  course  proper  to 
be  pursued.  Could  he  assail  them,  and  obtain  even  a 
partial  advantage,  it  might  be  beneficial — it  might  ar- 
rest disaffection — buoy  up  the  despondent — determine 
the  wavering,  and  bring  within  his  reach  resources  for 
to-morrow,  which  might  wholly  fail,  should  fear  once 
take  possession  of  the  public  mind.  It  was  a  moment, 
too,  of  all  others,  most  propitious  to  success.  He  well 
knew  the  greater  part  of  his  troops  were  inured  to 
marching  and  fatigue,  while  those  opposed  to  him  had 
just  been  landed  from  a  long  voyage,  and  were  as  yet 
without  activity,  and  unfitted  for  bodily  exertion. 
Moreover,  a  part  only  might  have  arrived  from  the 
shipping,  while  the  remainder  would  be  certainly  dis- 
embarked as  early  as  possible.  These  circumstances 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  309 

seemed  to  augment,  in  his  behalf,  the  chances  of  vic- 
tory, if  now  sought ;  but  if  deferred,  they  might,  in  a 
little  time,  disappear.  He  resolved,  at  all  events,  to 
march,  and  that  night  give  them  battle.  Generals  Cof- 
fee and  Carroll  were  ordered  to  proceed  immediately 
from  their  encampment,  and  join  him,  with  all  haste. 
Although  four  miles  above,  they  arrived  in  the  city  in 
less  than  two  hours  after  the  order  had  been  issued, 
These  forces,  with  the  seventh  and  forty-fourth  regi- 
ments, the  Louisiana  troops,  and  colonel  Hinds'  dra- 
goons, from  Mississippi,  constituted  the  strength  of  his 
army,  which  could  be  carried  into  action  against  an 
enemy  whose  numbers,  at  this  time,  could  only  be  con- 
jectured. It  was  thought  advisable  that  general  Car- 
roll and  his  division  should  be  disposed  in  the  rear,  for 
the  reason  that  there  was  no  correct  information  of  the 
force  landed  through  Villery's  canal,  and  because  Jack- 
son feared  that  this  probably  might  be  merely  a  feint 
intended  to  divert  his  attention,  while  a  much  stronger 
and  more  numerous  division,  having  already  gained 
some  point  higher  on  the  lake,  might,  by  advancing  in 
his  absence,  gain  his  rear,  and  succeed  in  their  designs. 
Uncertain  of  their  movements,  it  was  essential  he 
should  be  prepared  for  the  worst,  and,  by  different  dis- 
positions of  his  troops,  be  ready  to  resist,  in  whatever 
quarter  he  might  be  assailed.  Carroll,  therefore,  at  the 
head  of  his  division,  and  governor  Claiborne,  with  the 
state  militia,  were  directed  to  take  post  on  the  Gentilly 
road,  which  leads  from  Chef  Menteur  to  New  Orleans, 
and  to  defend  it  to  the  last  extremity. 

Alarm  pervaded  the  city.     The  marching  and  counr- 
termarching  of  the  troops — the  proximity  of  the  ene- 


310  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

my — with  the  approaching  contest,  and  uncertainty  of 
the  issue,  had  excited  a  general  fear.  Already  might 
the  British  be  on  their  way,  and  at  hand,  before  the 
necessary  arrangements  could  be  made  to  oppose  them. 
To  prevent  this,  colonel  Hayne,  with  two  companies  of 
riflemen,  and  the  Mississippi  dragoons,  was  sent  for- 
ward to  reconnoitre  their  camp,  learn  their  position 
and  their  numbers ;  and,  in  the  event  they  should  be 
found  advancing,  to  harass  and  oppose  them  at  every 
step,  until  the  main  body  should  arrive. 

Every  thing  being  ready,  general  Jackson  com- 
menced his  march,  to  meet  and  fight  the  veteran 
troops  of  England.  An  inconsiderable  circumstance, 
at  this  moment,  evinced  what  unlimited  confidence 
was  reposed  in  his  skill  and  bravery.  As  his  troops 
were  marching  through  the  city,  his  ears  were  assailed 
with  the  screams  and  cries  of  innumerable  females, 
who  had  collected  on  the  way,  and  seemed  to  appre- 
hend the  worst  of  consequenjces.  Feeling  for  their 
distresses,  and  anxious  to  quiet  them,  he  directed  Mr. 
Livingston,  one  of  his  aids-de-camp,  to  address  them 
in  the  French  language.  "  Say  to  them,"  said  he,  "not 
to  be  alarmed :  the  enemy  shall  never  reach  the  city." 
It  operated  like  an  electric  shock.  To  know  that  he 
himself  was  not  apprehensive  of  a  fatal  result,  inspired 
them  with  altered  feelings;  sorrow  was  ended,  and 
their  grief  converted  into  hope  and  confidence. 

The  general  arrived  in  view  of  the  enemy  a  little 
before  dark.  Having  previously  ascertained  from  co- 
lonel Hayne,  who  had  been  sent  in  advance,  their  po- 
sition, and  that  their  strength  was  about  two  thousand 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  311 

men,*  he  immediately  concerted  the  mode  of  attack, 
and  hastened  to  execute  it.  Commodore  Patterson, 
who  commanded  the  naval  forces  on  this  station,  with 
captain  Henly,  on  board  the  Caroline,  had  been  direct- 
ed to  drop  down,  anchor  in  front  of  their  line,  and  open 
upon  them  from  the  guns  of  the  schooner ;  this  being 
the  appointed  signal,  when  given,  the  attack  was  to  be 
waged  simultaneously  on  all  sides.  The  fires  from  their 
camp  disclosed  their  position,  and  showed  their  en- 
campment, formed  with  the  left  resting  on  the  river, 
and  extending  at  right  angles  into  the  open  field. 
General  Coffee,  with  his  brigade,  colonel  Hinds'  dra- 
goons, and  captain  Beal's  company  of  riflemen,  was 
ordered  to  oblique  to  the  left,  and,  by  a  circuitous 
route,  avoid  their  piquets,  and  endeavour  to  turn  their 
right  wing ;  having  succeeded  in  this,  to  form  his  line, 
and  press  the  enemy  towards  the  river,  where  they 
would  be  exposed  more  completely  to  the  fire  of  the 
Caroline.  The  rest  of  the  troops,  consisting  of  the 
regulars,  Ploache's  city  volunteers,  Daquin's  coloured 
troops,  the  artillery  under  lieutenant  Spotts,  support- 
ed by  a  company  of  marines  commanded  by  colonel 
M'Kee,  advanced  on  the  road  along  the  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  were  commanded  by  Jackson  in  per- 
son. 

General  Coffee  with  silence  and  caution  had  ad- 
vanced beyond  their  piquets,  next  the  swamp,  and 
nearly  reached  the  point  to  which  he  was  ordered, 

*  This  opinion,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  was  incorrect.  The 
number  of  the  enemy,  at  the  commencement  of  the  action,  was  three 
thousand,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  increased  by  additional  forces : 
our  strength  did  not  exceed  two  thousand. 


312  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

when  a  broadside  from  the  Caroline  announced  the 
battle  begun.  Patterson  had  proceeded  slowly,  giving 
time,  as  he  believed,  for  the  execution  of  those  ar- 
rangements contemplated  on  the  shore.  So  sanguine 
had  the  British  been  in  the  belief  that  they  would  be 
kindly  received,  and  little  opposition  attempted,  that 
the  Caroline  floated  by  the  sentinels,  and  anchored  be- 
fore their  camp,  without  any  kind  of  molestation.  On 
passing  the  front  piquet,  she  was  hailed  in  a  low  tone 
of  voice,  but  not  returning  an  answer,  no  further  ques- 
tion was  made.  This,  added  to  some  other  attendant 
circumstances,  confirmed  the  opinion  that  they  be- 
lieved her  a  vessel  laden  with  provisions,  which  had 
been  sent  out  from  New  Orleans,  and  was  intended 
for  them.  Having  reached  what,  from  their  fires,  ap- 
peared to  be  the  centre  of  their  encampment,  her  an- 
chors were  cast,  and  her  character  and  business  dis- 
closed from  her  guns.  So  unexpected  an  attack  pro- 
duced a  momentary  confusion;  but,  recovering,  she 
was  answered  by  a  discharge  of  musketry,  and  flight 
of  congreve  rockets,  which  passed  without  injury, 
while  the  grape  and  canister  from  her  guns,  were 
pouring  destructively  on  them.  To  take  away  the 
certainty  of  aim  afforded  by  the  light  from  their  fires, 
these  were  immediately  extinguished,  and  they  retired 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  into  the  open  field,  if  not 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  cannon,  at  least  to  a  distance, 
where,  by  the  darkness  of  the  night,  they  would  be 
protected. 

Coffee  had  dismounted  his  men,  and  turned  his 
horses  loose,  at  a  large  ditch,  next  the  swamp,  in  the 
rear  of  Larond's  plantation,  and  gained,  as  he  believed* 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  313 

the  centre  of  the  enemy's  line,  when  the  signal  from 
the  Caroline  reached  him.  He  directly  wheeled  his 
columns  in,  and  extending  his  line  parallel  with  the 
river,  moved  towards  their  camp.  He  had  advanced 
scarcely  more  than  a  hundred  yards,  when  he  receiv- 
ed a  heavy  fire,  from  a  line  formed  in  his  front ;  this, 
to  him,  was  an  unexpected  circumstance,  as  he  sup- 
posed the  enemy  lying  principally  at  a  distance,  and 
that  the  only  opposition  he  should  meet,  until  he  ap- 
proached towards  the  levee,*  would  be  from  their  ad- 
vanced pickets.  The  circumstance  of  his  coming  in 
contact  with  them  so  soon,  was  owing  to  the  severe 
attack  of  the  schooner,  which  had  compelled  the  ene- 
my to  abandon  their  camp,  and  form  without  the  reach 
of  her  guns.  The  moon  shone,  but  reflected  her  light 
too  feebly  to  discover  objects  at  a  distance.  The  only 
mean,  therefore,  of  producing  certain  effect,  with  the 
kind  of  force  engaged,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  rifle- 
men, was  not  to  venture  at  random,  but  to  discharge 
their  pieces  only  when  there  should  be  a  certainty  of 
felling  the  object.  This  order  being  given,  the  line 
pressed  on,  and  having  gained  a  position  near  enough 
to  distinguish,  a  general  fire  was  given ;  it  was  well 
directed,  and  too  severe  and  destructive  to  be  with- 
stood ;  the  enemy  gave  way,  and  retreated, — rallied, — 
formed, — were  charged,  and  again  retreated.  Our 

*  Banks  thrown  up  on  the  margin  of  the  river  to  confine  the  stream 
to  its  bed ;  and  which  are  extended  along  the  Mississippi  on  both 
sides,  from  the  termination  of  the  highlands,  near  Baton  Rouge.  Fre- 
quently the  river  in  its  vernal  floods  rises  above  the  elevation  of  the 
plains,  and  then  the  security  of  the  country  depends  on  the  strength 
of  those  levees  ;  they  not  unfrequently  break,  and  incalculable  injury 
is  the  consequence. 

2R 


314  UFE  OF  GEiNEKAL  JACKSON. 

gallant  yeomanry,  led  by  their  brave  commander, 
urged  fearlessly  on,  and  drove  their  invaders  from 
every  position  they  attempted  to  maintain.  Their 
general  was  under  no  necessity  to  encourage  and 
allure  them  to  deeds  of  valour :  his  own  example  was 
sufficient  to  excite  them.  Always  in  the  midst,  he 
displayed  a  coolness  and  disregard  of  danger,  calling 
to  his  troops,  that  they  had  often  said  they  could 
fight — now  was  the  time  to  prove  it. 

The  enemy,  driven  back  by  the  resolute  firmness 
and  ardour  of  the  assailants,  had  now  reached  a  grove 
of  orange  trees,  with  a  ditch  running  past  it,  protected 
by  a  fence  on  the  margin.  Here  they  were  halted  and 
formed  for  battle.  It  was  a  favourable  position,  pro- 
mising security,  and  was  occupied  with  a  confidence 
they  could  not  be  forced  to  yield  it.  Coffee's  daunt- 
less yeomanry,  strengthened  in  their  hopes  of  success, 
moved  on,  nor  discovered  the  advantages  against  them, 
until  a  fire  from  the  entire  British  line  showed  their 
position  and  defence.  A  sudden  check  was  given ; 
but  it  was  only  momentary,  for  gathering  fresh  ar- 
dour, they  charged  across  the  ditch,  gave  a  deadly  and 
destructive  fire,  and  forced  them  to  retire.  The  re- 
treat continued,  until  gaining  a  similar  position,  the 
enemy  made  another  stand,  and  were  again  driven 
from  it  with  considerable  loss. 

Thus  the  battle  raged  on  the  left  wing,  until  the 
British  reached  the  bank  of  the  river ;  here  a  deter- 
mined stand  was  made,  and  further  encroachments  re- 
sisted :  for  half  an  hour  the  conflict  was  extremely  vio- 
lent on  both  sides.  The  American  troops  could  not 


JL1FE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  315 

be  driven  from  their  purpose,  nor  the  British  made  to 
yield  their  ground;  but  at  length,  having  suffered 
greatly,  the  latter  were  under  the  necessity  of  taking 
refuge  behind  the  levee,  which  afforded  a  breast-work, 
and  protected  them  from  the  fatal  fire  of  our  riflemen. 
Coffee,  unacquainted  with  their  position,  for  the  dark- 
ness had  greatly  increased,  already  contemplated  again 
to  charge  them ;  but  one  of  his  officers,  who  had  dis- 
covered the  advantage  their  situation  gave  them,  as- 
sured him  it  was  too  hazardous ;  that  they  could  be 
driven  no  further,  and  would,  from  the  point  they 
occupied,  resist  with  the  bayonet,  and  repel,  with  con* 
siderable  loss,  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to  dis- 
lodge them.  The  place  of  their  retirement  was  cov- 
ered in  front  by  a  strong  bank,  which  had  been  ex- 
tended into  the  field,  to  keep  out  the  river,  in  conse* 
quence  of  the  first  being  encroached  upon,  and  un- 
dermined in  several  places :  the  former,  however,  was 
still  entire,  in  many  parts,  which,  interposing  between 
them  and  the  Mississippi,  afforded  security  from  the 
broadsides  of  the  schooner,  which  lay  off  at  some  dis- 
tance. A  further  apprehension,  lest,  by  moving  still 
nearer  to  the  river,  he  might  greatly  expose  himself 
to  the  fire  of  the  Caroline,  which  was  yet  spiritedly 
maintaining  the  conflict,  induced  Coffee  to  retire  until 
he  could  hear  from  the  commanding  general,  ajad  re- 
ceive his  further  orders. 

During  this  time,  the  right  wing,  under  Jackson, 
had  been  no  less  prompt  and  active.  A  detachment 
of  artillery,  under  lieutenant  Spotts,  supported  by 
sixty  marines,  and  constituting  the  advance,  had  moved 
down  the  road,  next  the  levee.  0n  their  left  was  the 


316  tlFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

seventh  regiment  of  infantry,  led  by  major  Piere.  The 
forty-fourth,  commanded  by  major  Baker,  was  formed 
on  the  extreme  left;  while  Plauche's  and  Daquin's 
battalions  of  city  guards,  were  directed  to  be  posted 
in  the  centre,  between  the  seventh  and  forty-fourth. 
The  general  had  ordered  colonel  Ross,  who,  during 
the  night,  acted  in  the  capacity  of  brigadier-general, 
for  he  was  without  a  brigadier,  on  hearing  the  signal 
from  the  Caroline,  to  move  off  by  heads  of  companies, 
and,  on  reaching  the  enemy's  line,  to  deploy,  and 
unite  the  left  wing  of  his  command  with  the  right  of 
general  Coffee's.  This  order  was  omitted  to  be  exe- 
cuted; and  the  consequence  was  an  early  introduc- 
tion of  confusion  in  the  ranks,  whereby  was  prevented 
the  important  design  of  uniting  the  two  divisions. 

Instead  of  moving  in  columns  from  the  first  position, 
the  troops,  with  the  exception  of  the  seventh  regiment, 
next  the  person  of  the  genera),  which  advanced  agree- 
ably to  the  instructions  that  had  been  given,  were 
formed  and  marched  in  extended  line.  Having  suffi- 
cient ground  to  form  on  at  first,  no  inconvenience  was 
at  the  moment  sustained ;  but  this  advantage  presently 
failing,  the  centre  became  compressed,  and  was  forced 
in  the  rear.  The  river,  from  where  they  were  formed, 
gradually  inclined  to  the  left,  and  diminished  the  space 
originally  possessed :  farther  in  stood  Larond's  house, 
surrounded  by  a  grove  of  clustered  orange  trees :  this 
pressing  the  left,  and  the  river  the  right  wing  to  the 
centre,  formed  a  curve,  which  presently  threw  the 
principal  part  of  Plauche's  and  Daquin's  battalions 
without  the  line.  This  inconvenience  might  have  been 
remedied,  but  for  the  briskness  of  the  advance,  and  for 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  317 

the  darkness  of  the  night  A  heavy  fire  from  behind 
a  fence,  immediately  before  them,  had  brought  the 
enemy  to  view.  Acting  in  obedience  to  their  orders-, 
not  to  waste  their  ammunition  at  random,  our  troops 
had  pressed  forward  against  the  opposition  in  their 
front,  and  thereby  threw  those  battalions  in  the  rear. 

A  fog  rising  from  the  river,  and  which,  added  to  the 
smoke  from  the  guns,  was  covering  the  plain,  gradu- 
ally diminished  the  little  light  shed  by  the  moon,  and 
greatly  increased  the  darkness  of  the  night :  no  clue 
was  left  to  ascertain  how  0r  where  the  enemy  were 
situated.  There  was  no  alternative  but  to  move  on,  in 
the  direction  of  their  fire,  which  subjected  the  assail- 
ants to  material  disadvantages.  The  British,  driven 
from  their  first  position,  had  retired  back,  and  occu- 
pied another,  behind  a  deep  ditch,  that  ran  out  of  the 
Mississippi  towards  the  swamp,  on  the  margin  of  which 
was  a  wood  railed  fence.  Here,  strengthened  by  in- 
creased numbers,  they  again  opposed  the  advance  of 
our  troops.  Having  waited  until  they  had  approached 
sufficiently  near  to  be  discovered,  from  their  fastnesses 
they  discharged  a  fire  upon  the  advancing  army.  In- 
stantly our  battery  was  formed,  and  poured  destruc- 
tively upon  them ;  while  the  infantry,  pressing  forward, 
aided  in  the  conflict,  which  at  this  point  was  for  some 
time  spiritedly  maintained.  At  this  moment,  a  brisk 
sally  was  made  upon  our  advance,  when  the  marines, 
unequal  to  the  assault,  were  already  giving  way.  The 
adjutant-general,  and  colonels  Piatt  and  Chotard,  with 
a  part  of  the  seventh,  hastening  to  their  support,  drove 
the  enemy,  and  saved  the  artillery  from  capture.  Gene- 
ral Jackson,  perceiving  the  decided  advantages  which. 


318  MFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

"'.-". 

were  derived  from  the  position  they  occupied,  ordered 
their  line  to  be  charged.  It  was  obeyed  with  cheer- 
fulness, and  executed  with  promptness.  Pressing  on, 
our  troops  gained  the  ditch,  and,  pouring  across  it  a 
well  aimed  fire,  compelled  them  to  retreat,  and  to  aban- 
don their  entrenchment.  The  plain,  on  which  they 
were  contending,  was  cut  to  pieces,  by  races  from  the 
river,  to  convey  the  water  to  the  swamp.  The  enemy 
were,  therefore,  very  soon  enabled  to  occupy  another 
position,  equally  favourable  with  the  one  whence  they 
had  been  just  driven,  where  they  formed  for  battle, 
and,  for  some  time,  gallantly  maintained  themselves  ; 
but  which,  at  length,  and  after  stubborn  resistance, 
they  were  forced  to  yield. 

The  enemy,  discovering  the  firm  and  obstinate  ad- 
vance made  by  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army, 
and  presuming  perhaps  that  its  principal  strength  was 
posted  on  the  road,  formed  the  intention  of  attacking 
violently  the  left.  Obliquing,  for  this  purpose,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  turn  it.  At  this  moment,  Daquin's 
and  the  battalion  of  city  guards,  being  marched  up, 
and  formed  on  the  left  of  the  forty-fourth  regiment, 
met  and  repulsed  them. 

The  particular  moment  of  the  contest  prevented 
many  of  those  benefits  which  might  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  artillery.  The  darkness  of  the  night 
was  such,  that  the  blaze  of  the  enemy's  musketry  was 
the  only  light  afforded  by  which  to  determine  their 
position,  or  be  capable  of  taking  our  own  to  advan- 
tage; yet,  notwithstanding,  it  greatly  annoyed  them, 
whenever  it  could  be  brought  to  bear.  Directed  by 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX.  319 

lieutenant  Spotts,  a  vigilant  and  skilful  officer,  with 
men  to  aid  him  who  looked  to  nothing  but  a  zealous 
discharge  of  their  duty,  the  most  essential  and  im- 
portant services  were  rendered. 

The  enemy  had  been  thrice  assailed  and  beaten, 
and  for  nearly  a  mile  compelled  to  yield  their  ground. 
They  had  now  retired,  and,  if  found,  were  to  be  sought 
for  amidst  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The  general  de- 
termined to  halt,  and  ascertain  Coffee's  position  and 
success,  previously  to  waging  the  battle  further ;  for  as 
yet  no  communication  had  passed  between  them.  He 
entertained  no  doubt,  from  the  brisk  firing  in  that 
direction,  but  that  he  had  been  warmly  engaged ;  but 
this  had  now  nearly  subsided ;  the  Caroline,  too,  had 
almost  ceased  her  operations  ;  it  being  only  occasion- 
ally, that  the  noise  of  her  guns  disclosed  the  little  op- 
portunity she  possessed  of  acting  efficiently. 

The  express  despatched  to  general  Jackson,  from 
the  left  wing,  having  reached  him,  he  determined  to 
prosecute  the  successes  he  had  gained,  no  further. 
The  darkness  of  the  night — the  confusion  into  which 
his  own  division  had  been  thrown,  and  a  similar  dis- 
aster produced  on  the  part  of  Coffee,  all  pointed  to 
the  necessity  of  retiring  from  the  field,  and  abandon- 
ing the  contest.  The  bravery  and  firmness  already 
displayed  by  his  troops,  had  induced  with  him  a  belief 
that  by  pressing  forward  he  might  capture  the  whole 
British  army :  at  any  rate,  he  considered  it  but  a  game 
of  venture  and  hazard,  which,  if  unsuccessful,  could 
not  occasion  his  own  defeat.  If  incompetent  to  its 
execution,  and  superior  numbers,  or  superior  discip- 


320  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOJT. 

line,  should  compel  him  to  recede  from  the  effort,  he 
well  knew  the  enemy  would  not  have  temerity  enough 
to  attempt  pursuit.  The  extreme  darkness — their  en- 
tire ignorance  of  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  an 
apprehension  lest  their  forces  might  be  greatly  out- 
numbered, afforded  sufficient  reasons  on  which  to 
ground  a  belief,  that  although  beaten  from  his  pur- 
pose, he  would  yet  have  it  in  his  power  to  retire  in 
safety:  but  on  the  arrival  of  the  express  from  general 
Coffee,  learning  the  strong  position  to  which  the 
enemy  had  retired,  and  that  a  part  of  the  left  wing 
had  been  detached,  and  were  in  all  probability  cap- 
tured, he  determined  to  retire  from  the  contest,  nor 
attempt  a  further  prosecution  of  his  successes.  Gene- 
ral Coffee  was  accordingly  directed  to  withdraw,  and 
take  a  position  at  Larond's  plantation,  where  the  line 
had  been  first  formed :  and  thither  the  troops  on  the 
right  were  also  ordered  to  be  marched. 

The  last  charge  made  by  the  left  wing,  had  separa- 
ted, from  the  main  body,  colonels  Dyer  and  Gibson, 
with  two  hundred  men,  and  captain  Beal's  company 
of  riflemen.  What  might  be  their  fate ;  whether  they 
were  captured,  or  had  effected  their  retreat,  was,  at 
this  time,  altogether  uncertain ;  be  that  as  it  might, 
Coffee's  command  was  thereby  considerably  weakened. 

Colonel  Dyer,  who  commanded  the  extreme  left,  on 
clearing  the  grove,  after  the  enemy  had  retired,  was 
marching  in  a  direction  where  he  expected  to  find 
general  Coffee ;  he  very  soon  discovered  a  force  in 
front,  and  halting  his  men,  hastened  towards  it ;  ar- 
riving within  a  short  distance,  he  was  hailed,  ordered 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  321 

to  stop,  and  report  to  whom  he  belonged :  Dyer,  and 
Gibson,  his  lieutenant-colonel,  who  had  accompanied 
him,  advanced,  and  stated  they  were  of  Coffee's  bri- 
gade ;  by  this  time  they  had  arrived  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  line,  and  perceiving  that  the  name  of  the 
brigade  they  had  stated  was  not  understood,  their  ap- 
prehensions were  awakened,  lest  it  might  be  a  detach- 
ment of  the  enemy;  in  this  opinion  they  were  imme- 
diately confirmed,  and  wheeling  to  return,  were  fired 
on  and  pursued.  Gibson  had  scarcely  started  when 
he  fell ;  before  he  could  recover,  a  soldier,  quicker 
than  the  rest,  had  reached  him,  and  pinned  him  to  the 
ground  with  his  bayonet ;  fortunately  the  stab  had  but 
slightly  wounded  him,  and  he  was  only  held  by  his 
clothes :  thus  pinioned,  and  perceiving  others  to  be 
briskly  advancing,  but  a  moment  was  left  for  de- 
liberation ; — making  a  violent  exertion,  and  springing 
to  his  feet,  he  threw  his  assailant  to  the  ground,  and 
made  good  his  retreat.  Colonel  Dyer  had  retreated 
about  fifty  yards,  when  his  horse  dropped  dead ;  en- 
tangled in  the  fall,  and  slightly  wounded  in  the  thigfy 
there  was  little  prospect  of  relief,  for  the  enemy  were 
briskly  advancing :  his  men  being  near  at  hand,  he  or- 
dered them  to  advance  and  fire,  which  checked  their 
approach,  and  enabled  him  to  escape.  Being  now  at 
the  head  of  his  command, — perceiving  an  enemy  in  a 
direction  he  had  not  expected,  and  uncertain  how  or 
where  he  might  find  general  Coffee,  he  determined  to 
seek  him  to  the  right,  and  moving  on  with  his  little 
band,  forced  his  way  through  the  enemy's  lines,  with 
the  loss  of  sixty-three  of  his  men,  who  were  killed 
and  taken.  Captain  Beal,  with  equal  bravery,  charged 
through  the  enemy,  carrying  off  some  prisoners,  and 
losing  several  of  his  own  company. 

2s 


322  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

This  reinforcement  of  the  British  had  arrived  from 
Bayou  Bienvenu,  after  night.  The  boats  that  landed 
the  first  detachment,  had  proceeded  back  to  the  ship- 
ping, and  having  returned,  were  on  their  way  up  the 
bayou,  when  they  heard  the  guns  of  the  Caroline ; 
moving  hastily  on  to  the  assistance  of  those  who  had 
debarked  before  them,  they  reached  the  shore,  and 
knowing  nothing  of  the  situation  of  the  two  armies, 
during  the  engagement  advanced  in  the  rear  of  gene- 
ral Coffee's  brigade.  Coming  in  contact  with  colonel 
Dyer  and  captain  Beal,  they  filed  off  to  the  left,  and 
reached  the  British  lines. 

This  detached  part  of  Coffee's  brigade,  unable  to 
unite  with,  or  find  him,  retired  to  the  place  where  they 
had  first  formed,  and  joined  colonel  Hinds'  dragoons, 
which  had  remained  on  the  ground  where  the  troops 
had  first  dismounted,  that  they  might  cover  their  re- 
treat, in  the  event  it  became  necessary. 

Jackson  had  gone  into  this  battle  confident  of  suc- 
cess ;  and  his  arrangements  were  such  as  would  have 
ensured  it,  even  to  a  much  greater  extent,  but  for  the 
intervention  of  circumstances  that  were  not,  and  could 
not  be  foreseen.  The  Caroline  had  given  her  signals, 
and  commenced  the  battle,  a  little  too  early,  before 
Coffee  had  reached  and  taken  his  position,  and  before 
every  thing  was  fully  in  readiness,  to  attain  the  objects 
designed :  but  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  confusion  in- 
troduced at  first  into  the  ranks,  which  checked  the  ra- 
pidity of  his  advance — gave  the  enemy  time  for  pre- 
paration, and  prevented  his  division  from  uniting  with 
the  right  wing  of  General  Coffee's  brigade. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  323 

Colonel  Hinds,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  dra- 
goons, was  not  brought  into  action  during  the  night. 
Interspersed  as  the  plain  was,  with  innumerable  ditch- 
es, diverging  in  different  directions,  it  was  impossible 
that  cavalry  could  act  to  any  kind  of  advantage :  they 
were  now  formed  in  advance,  to  watch,  until  morning, 
the  movements  of  the  enemy. 

From  the  experiment  just  made,  Jackson  believed 
it  would  be  in  his  power,  on  renewing  the  attack,  to 
capture  the  British  army :  he  concluded,  therefore,  to 
order  down  to  his  assistance  general  Carroll  with  his 
division,  and  to  assail  them  again  at  the  dawn  of  day. 
Directing  governor  Claiborne  to  remain  at  his  post, 
with  the  Louisiana  militia,  for  the  defence  of  an  im- 
portant pass  to  the  city,  the  Gentilly  road,  he  despatch- 
ed an  express  to  Carroll,  stating  to  him,  that,  in  the 
event  there  had  been  no  appearance  of  a  force  during 
the  night,  in  the  direction  of  Chef  Menteur,  to  hasten 
and  join  him  with  the  troops  under  his  command :  this 
order  was  executed  by  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Previously,  however,  to  his  arrival,  a  different  deter- 
mination was  made.  From  prisoners  who  had  been 
brought  in,  and  through  deserters,  it  was  ascertained 
that  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  during  the  battle,  was 
four  thousand,  and,  with  the  reinforcements  which  had 
reached  them,  after  its  commencement,  and  during  the 
action,  their  force  could  not  be  less  than  six : — at  any 
rate>  it  would  greatly  exceed  his  own,  even  after  the 
Tennessee  division  should  be  added.  Although  very 
decided  advantages  had  been  obtained,  yet  they  had 
been  procured  under  circumstances  that  might  be 
wholly  lost  in  a  contest  waged  in  open  day,  between 
forces  so  disproportionate,  and  by  undisciplined  troops, 


324  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON 

against  veteran  soldiers.  Jackson  well  knew  it  was 
incumbent  upon  him  to  act  a  part  entirely  defensive  : 
should  the  attempt  to  gain  and  destroy  the  city  suc- 
ceed, numerous  difficulties  would  present  themselves, 
which  might  be  avoided,  so  long  as  he  could  hold  the 
enemy  in  check,  and  halt  him  in  his  designs.  Prompt- 
ed by  these  considerations — that  it  was  important  to 
pursue  a  course  calculated  to  assure  safety;  and  be- 
lieving it  attainable  in  no  way  so  effectually,  as  in  oc- 
cupying some  point,  and  by  the  strength  he  might  give 
it,  compensate  for  the  inferiority  of  his  numbers,  and 
their  want  of  discipline,  he  determined  to  forbear  all 
further  offensive  efforts  until  he  could  more  certainly 
discover  the  views  of  the  enemy,  and  until  the  Ken- 
tucky troops,  which  had  not  yet  arrived,  should  reach 
him.  Pursuing  this  idea,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, having  ordered  colonel  Hinds  to  occupy  the  ground 
he  was  then  abandoning,  and  to  observe  the  enemy 
closely,  he  fell  back,  and  formed  his  line  behind  a  deep 
ditch  that  stretched  to  the  swamp  at  right  angles  from 
the  river.  There  were  two  circumstances  strongly  re- 
commending the  importance  of  this  place  :  the  swamp, 
which,  from  the  high  lands  at  Baton  Rouge,  skirts  the 
river  at  irregular  distances,  and  in  many  places  is  al- 
most impervious,  had  here  approached  within  four 
hundred  yards  of  the  Mississippi,  and  hence,  from  the 
narrowness  of  the  pass,  was  more  easily  to  be  defend- 
ed ;  added  to  which,  there  was  a  deep  canal,  whence 
the  dirt  being  thrown  on  the  upper  side,  already  form- 
ed a  tolerable  work  of  defence.  Behind  this,  his  troops 
were  formed,  and  proper  measures  adopted  for  increas- 
ing its  strength,  with  a  determination  never  to  abandon 
it ;  but  there  to  resist  to  the  last,  and  valiantly  to  defend 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  325 

those  rights  which  were  sought  to  be  outraged  and  de- 
stroyed. 

Promptitude  in  decision,  and  activity  in  execution, 
constituted  the  leading  traits  of  Jackson's  character. 
No  sooner  had  he  resolved  on  the  course  which  he 
thought  necessary  to  be  pursued,  than  with  every  pos- 
sible despatch  he  hastened  to  its  completion.  Before 
him  was  an  army  proud  of  its  name,  and  distinguished 
for  its  deeds  of  valour.  Opposed  to  which  was  his  own 
unbending  spirit,  and  an  inferior,  undisciplined  and 
unarmed  force.  He  conceived,  therefore,  that  his  was 
a  defensive  policy ;  that  by  prudence  and  caution  he 
would  be  able  to  preserve,  what  offensive  operation 
might  have  a  tendency  to  endanger.  Hence,  with  ac- 
tivity and  industry,  based  on  a  hope  of  ultimate  suc- 
cess, he  commenced  his  plan  of  defence,  determining 
to  fortify  himself  effectually,  as  the  peril  and  pressure 
of  the  moment  would  permit.  When  to  expect  attack 
he  could  not  tell ;  preparation  and  readiness  to  meet 
it,  was  for  him  to  determine  on,  all  else  was  for  the 
enemy.  Promptly,  therefore,  he  proceeded  with  his 
system  of  defence ;  and  with  such  thoughtfulness  and 
anxiety — that  until  the  night  of  the  27th,  when  his 
line  was  completed,  he  never  slept,  or  for  a  moment 
closed  his  eyes.  Resting  his  hope  of  safety  here,  lie 
was  every  where,  through  the  night,  present,  encour- 
aging his  troops,  and  hastening  a  completion  of  the 
work.  The  concern  and  excitement  produced  by  the 
mighty  object  before  him,  were  such  as  overcame  the 
demand  of  nature,  and  for  five  days  and  four  nights, 
he  was  without  sleep  and  constantly  employed.  His 
line  of  defence  being  completed  on  the  night  of  the 


326  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

27th,  he,  for  the  first  time  since  the  arrival  of  the  ene- 
my, retired  to  rest  and  repose. 

The  soldier  who  has  stood  the  shock  of  battle,  and 
knows  what  slight  circumstances  oftentimes  produce 
decided  advantages,  will  be  able,  properly  to  appre- 
ciate the  events  of  this  night.  Although  the  dreadful 
carnage  of  the  8th  of  January,  hereafter  to  be  told, 
was  in  fact  the  finishing  blow,  that  struck  down  the 
towering  hopes  of  those  invaders,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  contest,  yet  in  the  battle  of  the  23d,  is  there  to  be 
found  abundant  cause  why  success  resulted  to  our 
arms,  and  safety  was  given  to  the  country.  The  Bri- 
tish had  reached  the  Mississippi  without  the  fire  of  a 
gun,  and  encamped  upon  its  banks  as  composedly  as 
if  they  had  been  seated  on  their  own  soil,  and  at  a 
distance  from  all  danger.  These  were  circumstances 
which  awakened  a  belief  that  they  expected  little 
opposition, — were  certain  of  success, — and  that  the 
troops  with  whom  they  were  to  contend  would  scarce- 
ly venture  to  resist  them :  resting  thus  confidently 
in  the  expectation  of  success,  they  would  the  next 
day  have  moved  forward,  and  succeeded  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  their  designs.  Jackson,  convinced 
that  an  early  impression  was  essential  to  ultimate  suc- 
cess, had  resolved  to  assail  them  at  the  moment  of 
their  landing,  and  "attack  them  in  their  first  position:" 
we  have,  therefore,  seen  him,  with  a  force  inferior  by 
one  half,  to  that  of  the  enemy,  at  an  unexpected  mo- 
ment, break  into  their  camp,  and  with  his  undisciplin- 
ed yeomanry,  drive  before  him  the  pride  of  England, 
and  the  conquerors  of  Europe.  It  was  an  event  that 
could  not  fail  to  destroy  all  previous  theories,  and  es- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  327 

tablish  a  conclusion,  which  our  enemy  had  not  before 
formed,  that  they  were  contending  against  valour  infe- 
rior to  none  they  had  seen ; — before  which  their  own 
bravery  had  not  stood,  nor  their  skill  availed  them :  it 
had  the  effect  of  satisfying  them,  that  the  quantity  and 
kind  of  troops  it  was  in  our  power  here  to  wield, 
must  be  different  from  any  thing  that  had  been  repre- 
sented to  them ;  for  much  as  they  had  heard  of  the 
courage  of  the  man  with  whom  they  were  contend- 
ing, they  could  not  suppose,  that  a  general  having  a 
country  to  defend,  and  a  reputation  to  preserve,  would 
venture  to  attack,  on  their  own  chosen  ground,  a  great- 
ly superior  army,  and  one,  which,  by  the  numerous 
victories  it  had  achieved,  had  already  acquired  a  fame 
in  arms;  they  were  convinced  that  his  force  must 
greatly  surpass  what  they  had  expected,  and  be  com- 
posed of  materials  different  from  what  they  had  ima- 
gined. 

*.**>^"-   •'  i/y'  .t  •*  •'*•*'£>' 

The  American  troops,  which  were  actually  engaged, 
did  not  amount  to  two  thousand  men :  they  consisted 
of  part  of 

Coffee's  brigade  and  captain  Beal's  company,       648 
The  7th  and  44th  regiments,  763 

Company  of  marines  and  artillery,      *  -        82 

Plauche's  and  Daquin's  battalions,          *,*>'          488 
And  the  Mississippi  dragoons  under  colonel ) 

Hinds,  not  in  the  action,  i 

2167* 

*  This  statement  may  be  relied  on ;  it  was  furnished  to  the  author 
by  colonel  Robert  Butler,  adjutant-general  of  the  southern  division, 
who  assured  him  it  was  correct. 


32&  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

which,  for  more  than  an  hour,  maintained  a  severe  con- 
flict with  a  force  of  four  or  five  thousand,  and  retired 
in  safety  from  the  ground,  with  the  loss  of  but  twenty- 
four  killed,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  wounded,  and 
seventy-four  made  prisoners  ;  while  the  killed,  wound- 
edt  and  prisoners,  of  the  enemy,  were  not  less  than  four 
hundred. 

Our  officers  and  soldiers  executed  every  order  with 
promptitude,  and  nobly  sustained  their  country's  cha- 
racter. Lieutenant-colonel  Lauderdale,  of  Coffee's 
brigade,  an  officer  of  great  promise,  and  on  whom 
every  reliance  was  placed,  fell  at  his  post,  and  at  his 
duty :  he  had  entered  the  service,  and  descended  the 
river  with  the  volunteers  under  General  Jackson,  in 
the  winter  of  1812 — passed  through  all  the  hardships 
and  difficulties  of  the  Creek  war,  and  had  ever  mani- 
fested a  readiness  to  act  when  his  country  needed  his 
services.  Young,  brave,  and  skilful,  he  had  already 
afforded  evidences  of  a  capacity,  which  might,  in  fu- 
ture, have  become  useful ;  his  exemplary  conduct,  both 
in  civil  and  military  life,  had  acquired  for  him  a  re- 
spect, that  rendered  his  fall  a  subject  of  general  regret 
Lieutenant  M'Lelland,  a  valuable  young  officer  of  the 
7th,  was  also  among  the  number  of  the  slain. 

Coffee's  brigade,  during  the  action,  imitating  the 
example  of  their  commander,  bravely  contended,  and 
ably  supported  the  character  they  had  previously  es- 
tablished. The  unequal  contest  in  which  they  were 
engaged,  never  occurred  to  them ;  nor,  for  a  moment, 
checked  the  rapidity  of  their  advance.  Had  the  Bri- 
tish known  they  were  merely  riflemen,  and  without 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  329 

bayonets,  a  firm  stand  would  have  arrested  their  pro- 
gress, and  destruction  or  capture  would  have  been  the 
inevitable  consequence ;  but,  this  circumstance  being 
unknown,  every  charge  they  made  was  crowned  with 
success,  producing  discomfiture,  and  routing  and  driv- 
ing superior  numbers  before  them.  Officers,  from  the 
highest  to  inferior  grades,  discharged  what  had  been 
expected  of  them.  Ensign  Leach,  of  the  7th  regiment, 
being  wounded  through  the  body,  still  remained  at  his 
post,  and  in  the  performance  of  his  duty.  Colonel  Reu- 
ben Kemper,  enterprising  and  self-collected,  amidst 
the  confusion  introduced  on  the  left  wing,  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  handful  of  men,  detached  from  the 
main  body,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  party  of  the  enemy : 
never  did  any  man  better  exemplify  the  truth  of  the 
position,  that  discretion  is  sometimes  the  better  part 
of  valour :  to  attempt  resistance  was  idle,  and  could 
only  eventuate  in  destruction :  with  a  mind  unclouded 
by  the  peril  that  surrounded  him,  he  sought  and  pro- 
cured his  safety  through  stratagem.  Calling  to  a  group 
of  soldiers  who  were  near,  in  a  positive  tone,  he  de- 
manded of  them  where  their  regiment  was :  lost  them- 
selves, they  were  unable  to  answer :  but  supposing  him 
one  of  their  own  officers,  they  assented  to  his  orders, 
and  followed  him  to  his  own  line,  where  they  were  made 
prisoners. 

The  7th  regiment,  commanded  by  major  Piere,  and 
the  44th,  under  major  Baker,  aided  by  major  Butler, 
gallantly  maintained  the  conflict — forced  the  enemy 
from  every  secure  position  he  attempted  to  occupy, 
and  drove  him  a  mile  from  the  first  point  of  attack. 
Confiding  in  themselves,  and  their  general,  who  was 


330  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOW. 

constantly  with  them,  exposed  to  danger  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  fight,  inspiring  by  his  ardour,  and  encou- 
raging by  his  example,  they  advanced  to  the  conflict, 
nor  evinced  a  disposition  to  leave  it  until  the  prudence 
of  their  commander  directed  them  to  retire. 

From  the  violence  of  the  assault  already  made,  the 
fears  of  the  British  had  been  greatly  excited;  to  keep 
their  apprehensions  alive  was  considered  important, 
with  a  view  partially  to  destroy  the  overweening  con- 
fidence with  which  they  had  arrived  on  our  shores, 
and  to  compel  them  to  act,  for  a  time,  upon  the  de- 
fensive. To  effect  this,  general  Coffee,  with  his  bri- 
gade, was  ordered  down  on  the  morning  of  the  24th, 
to  unite  with  colonel  Hinds,  and  make  a  show  in  the 
rear  of  Lacoste's  plantation.  The  enemy,  not  yet  re- 
covered of  the  panic  produced  by  the  assault  of  the 
preceding  evening,  already  believed  it  was  in  contem- 
plation to  urge  another  attack,  and  immediately  form- 
ed themselves  to  repel  it ;  but  Coffee  having  succeeded 
in  recovering  some  of  his  horses,  which  were  wander^ 
ing  along  the  margin  of  the  swamp,  and  in  regaining 
part  of  the  clothing  which  his  troops  had  lost  the  night 
before,  returned  to  the  line,  leaving  them  to  conjee* 
ture  the  objects  of  his  movement 

*  -  ;,.'    .  i.-  -i,  .Vi  "'".*  . 

The  scanty  supply  of  clothes  and  blankets  that  re- 
mained to  the  soldiers,  from  their  long  and  exposed 
marches,  had  been  left  where  they  dismounted  to 
meet  the  enemy.  Their  numbers  were  too  limited? 
and  the  strength  of  their  opponents  too  well  ascertain- 
ed, for  any  part  of  their  force  to  remain  and  take  care 
df  what  was  left  behind :  it  was  so  essential  to  hasten 


tlFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON*  331 

on,  reach  their  destination,  and  be  ready  to  act  when 
the  signal  from  the  Caroline  should  announce  their 
co-operation  necessary,  that  no  time  was  afforded  them 
to  secure  their  horses ; — they  were  turned  loose,  and 
their  recovery  trusted  entirely  to  chance.     Although 
many  were  regained,  many  were  lost;  while  most  of 
the  men  remained  but  with  a  single  suit,  to  encounter^ 
in  the  open  field,  and  in  swamps  covered  with  water, 
the  hardships  of  camp,  and  the  severity  of  winter.     It 
is  a  circumstance  which  entitles  them  to  much  credit, 
that  under  privations   so  severely  oppressive,  com- 
plaints or  murmurs  were  never  heard.     This  state  of 
things  fortunately  was  not  of  long  continuance.     The 
•story  of  their  sufferings  and  misfortunes  was  no  sooner 
known,  than  the   legislature  appropriated  a  sum  of 
money  for  their  relief,  which  was  greatly  increased 
by  subscriptions  in  the  city  and  neighbourhood.     Ma- 
terials being  purchased,  the  ladies,  with  that  Christian 
charity  and  warmth  of  heart  characteristic  of  their 
sex,  at  once  exerted  themselves  in  removing  their  dis- 
tresses :  all  their  industry  was  called  into  action,  and 
in  a  little  time,  the  suffering  soldier  was  relieved.  Such 
generous  conduct,  in  extending  assistance  at  a  moment 
when  it  was  so  much  needed,  while  it  conferred  on 
those  females  the  highest  honour,  could  not  fail  to 
nerve  the  arm  of  the  brave  with  new  zeal  for  the  de- 
fence of  their  benefactresses.  This  distinguished  mark 
of  their  patriotism  and  benevolence,  is  still  remember- 
ed; and  often  as  these  valiant  men  are  heard  to  re- 
count the  dangers  they  have  passed,  and  with  peculiar ' 
pride  to  dwell  on  the  mingled  honours  and  hardships 
of  the  campaign,  they  breathe  a  sentiment  of  gratitude 
to  those  who  conferred  upon  them  such  distinguished 


332  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOff. 

marks  of  their  kindness,  and  who,  by  timely  inter- 
ference, alleviated  their  misfortunes  and  their  suffer- 
ings. 

To  present  a  check,  and  keep  up  a  show  of  resist- 
ance, detachments  of  light  troops  were  occasionally 
kept  in  front  of  the  line,  assailing  and  harassing  the 
enemy's  advanced  posts  whenever  an  opportunity  was 
offered  of  acting  to  advantage.  Every  moment  that 
could  be  gained,  and  every  delay  that  could  be  ex- 
tended to  the  enemy's  attempts,  to  reach  the  city,  was 
of  the  utmost  importance.  The  works  were  rapidly 
progressing,  and  hourly  increasing  in  strength.  The 
militia  of  the  state  were  every  day  arriving,  and  every 
day  the  prospect  of  successful  opposition  was  bright- 
ening. 

The  enemy  still  remained  at  his  first  encampment. 
To  be  in  readiness  to  repel  an  assault  when  attempted, 
the  most  active  exertions  were  made  on  the  24th  and 
25th.  The  canal,  covering  the  front  of  our  line,  was 
deepened  and  widened,  and  a  strong  mud  wall  formed 
of  the  earth  that  had  been  originally  thrown  out.  To 
prevent  any  approach  until  his  system  of  defence 
should  be  in  a  state  of  greater  forwardness,  Jackson 
ordered  the  levee  to  be  cut,  about  a  hundred  yards 
below  the  point  he  had  occupied.  The  river  being 
very  high,  a  broad  stream  of  water  passed  rapidly 
through  the  plain,  of  the  depth  of  thirty  or  forty 
inches,  which  prevented  any  approach  of  troops  on 
foot.  Embrasures  were  formed,  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  under  the  command  of  lieutenant  Spotty 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  333 

early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  were  placed  in  a 
position  to  rake  the  road  leading  up  the  levee. 

He  was  under  constant  apprehensions,  lest,  in  spite 
of  his  exertions  below,  the  city  might,  through  some 
other  route,  be  reached  and  destroyed ;  and  those  fears 
were  increased  to-day,  by  a  report  that  a  strong  force 
had  arrived — debarked  at  the  head  of  lake  Borgne, 
and  compelled  an  abandonment  of  the  defence  at  Chef 
Menteur.  This,  however,  proved  to  be  unfounded: 
the  enemy  had  not  appeared  in  that  direction,  nor  had 
the  officer,  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  command  of 
this  fort,  so  much  relied  on,  forgotten  his  duty,  or  for- 
saken his  post.  Acting  upon  the  statement  that  ma- 
jor Lacoste  had  retired  from  the  fort,  and  fallen  back 
on  bayou  St.  John,  and  incensed  that  orders,  which, 
from  their  importance,  should  have  been  faithfully 
executed,  had  been  thus  lightly  regarded,  he  hasten- 
ed to  inform  him  what  he  had  understood,  and  to  for- 
bid his  leaving  his  position.  "  The  battery  I  have 
placed  under  your  command,  must  be  defended  at  all 
hazards.  In  you,  and  the  valour  of  your  troops,  I  re- 
pose every  confidence; — let  me  not  be  deceived. 
With  us,  every  thing  goes  on  well :  the  enemy  has  not 
yet  advanced.  Our  troops  have  covered  themselves 
with  glory :  it  is  a  noble  example,  and  worthy  to  be 
followed  by  all.  Maintain  your  post,  nor  ever  think 
of  retreating."  To  give  additional  strength  to  a  place 
deemed  so  important — inspire  confidence,  and  ensure 
safety,  colonel  Dyer,  and  two  hundred  men,  were  or- 
dered here  to  assist  in  its  defence,  and  act  as  videttes, 
in  advance  of  the  occupied  points. 


#34  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

General  Morgan,  who,  at  the  English  turn,  com- 
manded the  fort  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  was  in- 
structed to  proceed  as  near  the  enemy's  camp  as 
prudence  and  safety  would  permit,  and,  by  destroying 
the  levee,  to  let  in  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  be^ 
tween  them.  The  execution  of  this  order,  and  a 
similar  one,  previously  made,  below  the  line  of  defence, 
had  entirely  insulated  the  enemy,  and  prevented  his 
march  against  either  place.  On  the  26th,  however, 
the  commanding  general  fearing  for  the  situation  of 
Morgan,  who,  from  the  British  occupying  the  inter- 
mediate ground,  was  entirely  detached  from  his  camp, 
directed  him  to  abandon  his  encampment,  carry  off 
such  of  the  cannon  as  might  be  wanted,  and  throw  the 
remainder  into  the  river,  where  they  could  be  again 
recovered  when  the  waters  receded ;  to  retire  to  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  and  assume  a  position  on  the 
right  bank,  nearly  opposite  to  his  line,  and  have  it 
fortified.  This  movement  was  imposed  by  the  relative 
disposition  of  the  two  armies.  Necessity,  not  choice, 
made  it  essential  that  St.  Leon  should  be  abandoned. 

From  every  intelligence,  obtained  through  deserters 
and  prisoners,  it  was  evident  that  the  British  fleet 
would  make  an  effort  to  ascend  the  river,  and  co- 
operate with  the  troops  already  landed.  Lest  this, 
or  a  diversion  in  a  different  quarter,  might  be  attempt* 
ed,  exertions  were  made  to  be  able  to  resist  at  all 
points,  and  to  interpose  such  defences  on  the  Missis- 
sippi as  might  assure  protection.  The  forts  on  the 
river,  well  supported  with  brave  men,  and  heavy 
pieces  of  artillery,  might,  perhaps,  have  the  effect  to 
deter  their  shipping  from  venturing  in  that  direction. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  dispose  them  to  seek  some  safer  route,  if  any 
could  be  discovered.  Pass  Barrataria  was  best  cal- 
culated for  this  purpose,  and  here,  in  all  probability, 
it  was  expected  the  effort  might  be  made.  The  dif- 
ficulty of  ascending  the  Mississippi,  from  the  rapidity 
of  the  current,  its  winding  course,  and  the  ample  pro- 
tection already  given  at  forts  St.  Philip  and  Bourbon, 
were  circumstances  to  which,  it  was  not  to  be  inferred, 
the  British  were  strangers :  nor  was  it  to  be  expected, 
that,  with  a  knowledge  of  them,  they  would  venture 
here  the  success  of  an  enterprise  on  which  so  much 
depended.  It  was  a  more  rational  conjecture  that 
they  would  seek  a  passage  through  Barrataria — pro- 
ceed up  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  gain  a 
position  whence,  co-operating  with  the  forces  on  the 
east  side,  they  might  drive  our  troops  from  the  line 
they  had  formed,  and,  at  less  hazard,  succeed  in  the 
accomplishment  of  their  designs.  Major  Reynolds  was 
accordingly  ordered  thither,  with  instructions  to  place 
the  bayous,  emptying  through  this  pass,  in  the  best 
possible  state  of  defence — to  occupy  and  strengthen 
the  island — to  mount  sufficient  ordnance,  and  draw  a 
chain,  within  cannon-shot,  across,  the  more  effectually 
to  guard  the  route,  and  protect  it  from  approach. 
Lafite,  who  had  been  heretofore  promised  pardon  for 
the  outrages  he  had  committed  against  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  who  had  already  shown  a  lively 
zeal  in  behalf  of  his  adopted  country,  was  also  dis- 
patched with  Reynolds.  He  was  selected,  because, 
from  the  proofs  already  given,  no  doubt  was  enter- 
tained of  his  fidelity,  and  because  his  knowledge  of 
the  topography  and  precise  situation  of  this  sqction  of 
the  state,  was  remarkably  correct :  it  was  the  point 


336  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

where  he  had  constantly  rendezvoused,  during  the 
time  of  cruising  against  the  merchant  vessels  of  Spain, 
under  a  commission  obtained  at  Carthagena,  and 
where  he  had  become  perfectly  acquainted  with  every 
inlet  and  entrance  to  the  gulf  through  which  a  pas- 
sage could  be  effected. 

With  these  arrangements — treason  apart — all  anx- 
iously alive  to  the  interest  of  the  country,  and  dispos- 
ed to  protect  it,  there  was  little  room  to  apprehend 
or  fear  disaster.  To  use  the  general's  own  expres- 
sion, on  another  occasion,  "  the  surest  defence,  and 
one  which  seldom  failed  of  success,  was  a  rampart  of 
high-minded  and  brave  men."  That  there  were  some 
of  this  description  with  him^  on  whom  he  could  safe- 
ly rely,  in  moments  of  extreme  peril,  he  well  knew ; 
but  that  there  were  many  strangers  to  him  and  dan- 
ger, and  who  had  never  been  called  to  act  in  those 
situations  where  death,  stalking  in  hideous  round,  ap- 
pals and  unnerves  even  the  most  resolute,  was  equally 
certain ;  whether  they  would  contend  with  manly  firm- 
ness— support  the  cause  in  which  they  had  embarked, 
and  realize  his  anxious  wishes  on  the  subject,  could 
be  only  known  in  the  moment  of  conflict  and  trial ; 
when,  if  disappointed  in  his  expectations,  the  means 
of  retrieving  the  evil  would  be  fled,  and  every  thing 
lost  in  the  result. 

As  yet  the  enemy  were  uninformed  of  the  position 
of  Jackson.  What  was  his  situation — what  was  in- 
tended— whether  offensive  or  defensive  operations 
would  be  pursued,  were  circumstances  on  which  they 
possessed  no  correct  knowledge,  nor  could  it  be  ob- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  337 

tained ;  still  their  exertions  were  unremitting  to  have 
all  things  prepared,  and  in  readiness  to  urge  their  de- 
signs whenever  the  moment  for  action  should  arrive* 
They  had  been  constantly  engaged,  since  their  land- 
ing, in  procuring  from  their  shipping  every  thing  ne- 
cessary to  ulterior  operation.  A  complete  command 
on  the  lakes,  and  possession  of  a  point  on  the  margin, 
presented  an  uninterrupted  ingress  and  egress,  and  af- 
forded the  opportunity  of  conveying  whatever  was 
wanted,  in  perfect  safety  to  their  camp.  The  height 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  discharge  of  water  through 
the  openings  made  in  the  levee,  had  given  an  increas- 
ed depth  to  the  canal,  from  which  they  had  first  de- 
barked— enabled  them  to  advance  their  boats  much 
further,  in  the  direction  of  their  encampment,  and, 
with  greater  convenience,  to  forward  their  artillery, 
bombs  and  munitions.  Thus  engaged,  during  the 
first  three  days  after  their  arrival,  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  27th,  a  battery  was  discovered  on  the  bank 
of  the  river,  which  had  been  erected  during  the  pre- 
ceding night,  and  on  which  were  mounted  several 
pieces  of  heavy  ordnance ;  from  this  position  a  fire  was 
opened  on  the  Caroline  schooner,  lying  under  the  op- 
posite shore. 

After  the  battle  of  the  23d,  in  which  this  vessel  had 
iso  effectually  aided,  she  had  passed  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  where  she  had  since  lain.  Her  ser- 
vices were  too  highly  appreciated  not  to  be  again  de- 
sired, in  the  event  the  enemy  should  endeavour  to  ad- 
vance. Her  present  situation  was  considered  truly  an 
unsafe  one,  but  it  had  been  essayed  in  vain  to  advance 
her  higher  up  the  stream.  No  favourable  breeze  had 

2u 


338  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

yet  arisen  to  aid  her  in  stemming  the  current ;  and 
towing,  and  other  remedies,  had  been  already  resorted 
to,  but  without  success.  Her  safety  might  have  been 
ensured  by  floating  her  down  the  river  and  placing 
her  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the  fort,  though  it  was 
preferred  as  a  matter  of  policy,  to  risk  her  where  she 
was,  still,  hourly,  calculating  that  a  favourable  wind 
might  relieve  her,  rather  than  by  dropping  her  with 
the  current,  lose  those  benefits  which,  against  an  ad- 
vance of  the  enemy,  it  might  be  in  her  power  so  com- 
pletely to  extend.  Commodore  Patterson  had  left  her 
on  the  26th,  by  the  orders  of  the  commanding  gene- 
ral, when  captain  Henly  made  a  further,  but  ineffec- 
tual, effort  to  force  her  up  the  current,  near  to  the  line, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  its  defence  and  for  her  own 
safety. 

These  attempts  to  remove  her  being  discovered, 
at  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  a  battery, 
mounting  five  guns,  opened  upon  her,  discharging 
bombs  and  red  hot  shot ;  it  was  spiritedly  answered, 
but  without  affecting  the  battery ;  there  being  but  a 
long  twelve  pounder  that  could  reach.  The  second 
fire  had  lodged  a  hot  shot  in  the  hold,  directly  under 
her  cables,  whence  it  could  not  be  removed,  and  where 
it  immediately  communicated  fire  to  the  schooner. 
The  shot  from  the  battery  were  constantly  taking 
effect,  firing  her  in  different  places,  and  otherwise 
producing  material  injury;  while  the  blaze  already 
kindled  under  her  cables,  was  rapidly  extending  its 
ravages.  A  well  grounded  apprehension  of  her  com- 
mander, that  she  could  be  no  longer  defended — the 
flames  bursting  forth  in  different  parts,  and  fast  in- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  339 

creasing,  induced  a  fear  lest  the  magazine  should  be 
soon  reached,  and  every  thing  destroyed.  One  of  his 
crew  being  killed,  and  six  wounded,  and  not  a  glim- 
mering of  hope  entertained  that  she  could  be  pre- 
served, orders  were  given  to  abandon  her.  The  crew 
in  safety  reached  the  shore,  and  in  a  short  time  after- 
wards she  blew  up. 

'  »       i     '  « * 

Although  thus  unexpectedly  deprived  of  so  material 
a  dependence,  for  successful  defence,  an  opportunity 
was  soon  presented  of  using  her  brave  crew  to  ad- 
vantage. Gathering  confidence  from  what  had  been 
just  effected,  the  enemy  left  their  encampment,  and 
moved  in  the  direction  of  our  line.  Their  numbers 
had  been  increased,  and  major-general  Sir  Edward 
Packenham  now  commanded  in  person.  Early  on  the 
28th,  his  columns  commenced  their  advance  to  storm 
our  works.  At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  their  heavy 
artillery  opened,  and  quantities  of  bombs,  balls  and 
congreve  rockets,  were  discharged.  It  was  a  scene 
of  terror  and  alarm,  which  they  had  probably  calcu- 
lated would  excite  a  panic  in  the  minds  of  the  raw 
troops  of  our  army,  and  compel  them  to  surrender  at 
discretion,  or  abandon  their  strong  hold.  But  our 
soldiers  had  afforded  abundant  proof,  that,  whether 
disciplined  or  not,  they  well  knew  how  to  defend  the 
honour  and  interests  of  their  country ;  and  had  suf- 
ficient valour  not  to  be  alarmed  at  the  reality — still 
less  the  semblance  of  danger.  Far  from  exciting  their 
apprehensions,  and  driving  them  from  their  ground, 
their  firmness  still  remained  unchanged; — still  was 
manifested  a  determination  not  to  tarnish  a  reputation 
they  had  hardly  earned ;  and  which  had  become  too 


340  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

dear,  from  the  difficulties  and  dangers  they  had  passed 
to  acquire  it,  for  it  now  tamely  to  be  surrendered. 
Their  congreve  rockets,  though  a  kind  of  instrument 
of  destruction  to  which  our  troops  unskilled  in  the 
science  of  desolating  warfare,  had  been  hitherto  stran- 
gers, excited  no  other  feeling  than  that  which  novelty 
inspires.  At  the  moment,  therefore,  that  the  British, 
in  different  columns,  were  moving  up,  in  all  the  pomp 
and  parade  of  battle,  preceded  by  these  insignia  of 
terror,  more  than  danger,  and  were  expecting  to  be- 
hold their  "  Yankee  foes"  tremblingly  retire  and  flee 
before  them,  our  batteries  opened,  and  halted  their 
advance. 

In  addition  to  the  two  pieces  of  cannon  mounted  on 
our  works,  on  the  24th,  three  others,  of  heavy  caliber, 
obtained  from  the  navy  department,  had  been  formed 
along  the  line ;  these  opening  on  the  enemy,  checked 
their  progress,  and  disclosed  to  them  the  hazard  of 
the  project  they  were  on.     Lieutenants  Crawley  and 
Norris  volunteered,  and  with  the  crew  of  the  Caro- 
line rendered  important  services,  and  maintained,  at 
the  guns  they  commanded,  that  firmness  and  decision 
for  which,  on  previous  occasions,  ttyey  had  been  so 
liighly  distinguished.    They  had  been  selected  by  the 
general,  because  of  their  superior  knowledge  in  gun- 
nery ;  and,  on  this  occasion,  gave  a  further  evidence 
of  their  skill  and  judgment,  and  of  a  disposition  to  act 
in  any  situation  w^here  they  could  be  serviceable.  The 
line,  which,  from  the  labours  bestowed  on  it,  was  dai- 
ly strengthening,  was  not  yet  in  a  situation  effectually 
to  resist ;  this  deficiency,  however,  was  well  remedied 
by  the  brave  men  who  were  formed  in  its  rear. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  341 

From  the  river  the  greatest  injury  was  effected. 
Lieutenant  Thompson,  who  commanded  the  Louisi- 
ana sloop,  which  lay  nearly  opposite  the  line  of  de- 
fence, no  sooner  discovered  the  columns  approaching, 
than  warping  her  around,  he  brought  her  starboard 
guns  to  bear,  and  produced  such  an  effect  as  forced 
them  to  retreat :  but,  from  their  heavy  artillery,  the 
enemy  maintained  the  conflict  with  great  spirit,  con- 
stantly discharging  their  bombs  and  rockets,  for  seven 
hours,  when,  unable  to  make  a  breach,  or  silence  the 
fire  from  the  sloop,  they  abandoned  a  contest  where  / 
few  advantages  seemed  to  be  presented.  The  crew 
of  this  vessel  was  composed  of  new  recruits,  and  of 
discordant  materials, — of  soldiers,  citizens  and  seamen; 
yet,  by  the  activity  of  their  commander,  were  they  so 
well  perfected  in  their  duty,  that  they  already  man- 
aged their  guns  with  the  greatest  precision  and  cer- 
tainty of  effect ;  and,  by  three  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
with  the  aid  of  the  land  batteries,  had  completely 
silenced  and  driven  back  the  enemy.  Emboldened 
by  the  effect  produced  the  day  before  on  the  Care- 
line,  the  furnaces  of  the  enemy  were  put  in  operation, 
and  numbers  of  hot  shot  thrown  from  a  heavy  piece 
which  was  placed  behind  and  protected  by  the  levee. 
An  attempt  was  now  made  to  carry  it  off,  when  that 
protection,  heretofore  had,  being  taking  away,  those 
in  the  direction  of  it  were  fairly  exposed  to  our  firet 
and  suffered  greatly.  In  their  endeavours  to  remove 
it,  "  I  saw,"  says  commodore  Patterson,  "  distinctly, 
with  the  aid  of  a  glass,  several  balls  strike  in  the  midst 
of  the  men  who  were  employed  in  dragging  it  away." 
In  this  engagement,  commenced  and  waged  for  seven 
hours,  we  received  little  or  no  injury.  The  Louisiana 


342  LIFE  OF  GE^NERAL  JACKSOX. 

sloop,  against  which  the  most  violent  exertions  were 
made,  had  but  a  single  man  wounded,  by  the  frag- 
ments of  a  shell,  which  bursted  over  her  deck.  Our 
entire  loss  did  not  exceed  nine  killed,  and  eight  or  ten 
wounded.  The  enemy,  being  more  exposed,  acting 
in  the  open  field,  and  in  range  of  our  guns,  suffered, 
from  information  afterwards  procured,  considerable 
injury ;  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  were  killed 
and  wounded. 

Among  the  killed,  on  our  side,  was  colonel  James 
Henderson,  of  the  Tennessee  militia.  An  advance 
party  of  the  British  had,  during  the  action,  taken  post 
behind  a  fence  that  ran  obliquely  to,  and  not  very  re- 
mote from,  our  line.  Henderson,  with  a  detachment 
of  two  hundred  men,  was  sent  out  by  general  Carroll 
to  drive  them  from  a  position  whence  they  were 
effecting  some  injury,  and  greatly  annoying  our  troops. 
Had  he  advanced  in  the  manner  directed,  he  would 
have  been  less  exposed,  and  enabled  more  effectually 
to  have  secured  the  object  intended ;  but,  misunder- 
standing the  order,  he  proceeded  in  a  different  route, 
and  fell  a  victim  to  his  error.  Instead  of  marching  in 
the  direction  of  the  wood,  and  turning  the  enemy, 
which  might  have  cut  off  their  retreat,  he  proceeded 
in  front,  towards  the  river,  leaving  them  in  rear  of  the 
fence,  and  himself  and  his  detachment  open  and  ex- 
posed. His  mistake  being  perceived  from  the  line, 
he  was  called  by  the  adjutant-general,  and  directed  to 
return;  but  the  noise  of  the  waters,  through  which 
they  were  wading,  prevented  any  communication. 
Having  reached  a  knoll  of  dry  ground,  he  formed,  and 
attempted  the  execution  of  his  order ;  but  soon  fell, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  343 

by  a  wound  in  the  head.  Deprived  of  their  command- 
er, and  perceiving  their  situation  hazardous  and  un- 
tenable, the  detachment  retreated  to  the  line,  with  the 
loss  of  their  colonel  and  five  men.  \X 

While  this  advance  was  made,  a  column  of  the  ene- 
my was  threatening  an  attack  on  our  extreme  left ;  to 
frustrate  the  attempt,  Coffee  was  ordered  with  his 
riflemen  to  hasten  through  the  woods,  and  check  their 
approach.  The  enemy,  although  greatly  superior  to 
him  in  numbers,  no  sooner  discovered  his  movement 
than  they  retired,  and  abandoned  the  attack  they  had 
previously  meditated. 

A  supposed  disaffection  in  New  Orleans,  and  an 
enemy  in  front,  were  circumstances  well  calculated  to 
excite  unpleasant  forebodings.  General  Jackson  be- 
lieved it  necessary  and  essential  to  his  security,  while 
contending  with  avowed  foes,  not  to  be  wholly  inat- 
tentive to  dangers  lurking  at  home ;  but,  by  guarding 
vigilantly,  to  be  able  to  suppress  any  treasonable  pur- 
pose the  moment  it  should  be  developed,  and  before 
it  should  have  time  to  mature.  Previously,  therefore,* 
to  departing  from  the  city,  on  the  evening  of  the  23d, 
he  had  ordered  major  Butler,  his  aid,  to  remain  with 
the  guards,  and  be  vigilant  that  nothing  transpired  in 
his  absence  calculated  to  operate  injuriously.  His 
fears  that  there  were  many  of  the  inhabitants  who 
felt  no  attachment  to  the  government,  and  would  not 
scruple  to  surrender,  whenever,  prompted  by  their  in- 
terest, it  should  become  necessary,  has  been  already 
noticed. .  In  this  belief,  subsequent  circumstances 
evinced  there  was  no  mistake,  and  showed  that  to  his 


3  14  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

assiduity  and  energy  is  to  be  ascribed  the  cause  the 
country  was  protected  and  saved.  It  is  a  fact,  which 
was  disclosed,  on  making  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 
that,  in  despite  of  all  the  efforts  made  to  prevent  it, 
the  enemy  were  daily  and  constantly  apprized  of  every 
thing  that  transpired  in  our  camp.  Every  arrange- 
ment, and  every  change  of  position,  was  immediately 
communicated.  "  Nothing,"  remarked  a  British  officer, 
at  the  close  of  the  invasion,  "  was  kept  a  secret  from 
us,  except  your  numbers:  this,  although  diligently 
sought  after,  could  never  be  procured." 

Between  the  23d,  and  the  attack  on  the  28th,. to 
carry  our  line,  major  Butler,  who  still  remained  at  his 
post  in  the  city,  was  applied  to  by  Fulwar  Skipwith, 
at  that  time  speaker  of  the  senate,  .to  ascertain  the 
commanding  general's  views,  provided  he  should  be 
driven  from  his  line  of  encampment,  and  compelled  to 
retreat  through  the  city ;  would  he,  in  that  event,  de- 
stroy it?  It  was,  indeed,  a  curious  inquiry  from  one 
who,  having  spent  his  life  in  serving  his  country  in 
different  capacities,  might  better  have  understood  the 
dut}r  of  a  subordinate  officer ;  and  that  even  if,  from  his 
situation,  major  .Butler  had  so  far*  acquired  the  confi- 
dence of  his  general  as  to  have  become  acquainted 
with  his  views  and  designs,  he  was  not  at  liberty  to 
divulge  them,  without  destroying  confidence  and  acting 
criminally.  On  asking  the  cause  of  the  inquiry,  Mr. 
Skipwitii  replied,  it  was  rumoured,  and  so  understood, 
that  if  driven  from  his  position,  and  made  to  retreat 
upon  the  city,  general  Jackson  had  it  in  contemplation 
to  lay  it  in  ruins ;  the  legislature,  he  said,  desired  in- 
formation on  this  subject,  that  if  such  were  his  inten- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  345 

tions,  they  might,  by  offering  terms  of  capitulation  to 
the  enemy,  avert  so  serious  a  calamity.     That  a  senti- 
ment having  for  its  object  a  surrender  of  the  city,  should 
be  entertained  by  this  body,  was  scarcely  credible ;  yet 
a  few  days  Brought  the  certainty  of  it  more  fully  to 
view,  and  showed  that  they  were  already  devising  plans 
to  ensure  the  safety  of  themselves  and  property,  even 
at  any  sacrifice.  While  the  general  was  hastening  along 
the  line,  from  ordering  Coffee,  as  we  have  just  observed, 
against  a  column  of  the  British  on  the  extreme  left,  he 
was  hailed  by  Mr.  Duncan,  one  of  his  volunteer  aids, 
and  informed,  that  already  it  was  agitated,  secretly,  by 
the  members  of  the  legislature,  to  offer  terms  of  capit- 
ulation to  the  enemy,  and  proffer  a  surrender ;  and  that 
governor  Claiborne  awaited  his  orders  on  the  subject. 
Poised  as  was  the  result,  the  safety  or  fall  of  the  city 
resting  in  uncertainty,  although  it  was  plainly  to  be 
perceived,  that,  with  a  strong  army  before  them,  no 
such  resolution  could  be  carried  into  effect,  yet  it  might 
be  productive  of  evil,  and,  in  the  end,  bring  about  the 
most  fatal  consequences.     Even  the  disclosure  of  such 
a  wish  on  the  part  of  the  legislature,  might  create  par- 
ties— excite  opposition  in  the  army,  and  inspire  the 
enemy  with  renewed  confidence.      The  Tennessee 
forces,  and  Mississippi  volunteers,  it  was  not  feared 
would  be  affected  by  the  measure ;  but  it  might  detach 
the  Louisiana  militia,  and  even  extend  itself  to  the 
ranks  of  the  regular  troops.     Jackson  was  greatly  in- 
censed, that  those  whose  safety  he  had  so  much  at  heart, 
should  be  seeking,  under  the  authority  of  office,  to  mar 
his  best  exertions.     He  was,  however,  too  warmly 
pressed,  at  the  moment,  for  the  battle  was  raging,  to 
give  it  the  attention  its  importance  merited ;  but,  avail- 

2x 


346  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOff. 

ing  himself  of  the  first  respite  from  the  violence  of  the 
attack  waged  against  him,  he  apprized  governor  Clai- 
borne  of  what  he  had  heard ; — ordered  him  closely  to 
watch  the  conduct  of  the  legislature,  and  the  moment 
the  project  of  offering  a  capitulation  to  the  enemy 
should  be  fully  disclosed,  to  place  a  guard  at  the  door 
and  confine  them  to  their  chamber.  The  governor  in 
his  zeal  to  execute  the  command,  and  from  a  fear  of 
the  consequences  involved  in  such  conduct,  construed 
as  imperative,  an  order  which  was  merely  contingent ; 
and,  placing  an  armed  force  at  the  door  of  the  capitol, 
prevented  the  members  from  convening,  and  their 
schemes  from  maturing. 

• 

The  purport  of  this  order  was  essentially  miscon- 
ceived by  the  governor ;  or,  perhaps,  with  a  view  to 
avoid  subsequent  inconveniences  and  complaints,  was 
designedly  mistaken.  Jackson's  object  was  not  to  re- 
strain the  legislature  in  the  discharge  of  their  official 
duties ;  for  although  he  thought,  that  such  a  moment, 
when  the  sound  of  the  cannon  was  constantly  pealing 
in  their  ears,  was  inauspicious  to  wholesome  legisla- 
tion, and  that  it  would  have  better  comported  with 
the  state  of  the  times  for  them  to  abandon  their  civil 
duties  and  appear  in  the  field,  yet  was  it  a  matter  in- 
delicate to  be  proposed ;  and  it  was  hence  preferred, 
that  they  should  adopt  whatever  course  might  be  sug- 
gested by  their  own  notions  of  propriety.  This  senti- 
ment would  have  been  still  adhered  to ;  but  when 
through  the  communication  of  Mr.  Duncan,  they  were 
represented  as  entertaining  opinions  and  schemes  ad- 
verse to  the  general  interest  and  safety  of  the  coun- 
try, the  necessity  of  a  new  and  different  course  of 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  347 

conduct  was  at  once  obvious.  But  he  did  not  order 
governor  Claiborne  to  interfere  with,  or  prevent  them 
from  proceeding  with  their  duties ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  was  instructed,  so  soon  as  any  thing  hostile  to  the 
general  cause  should  be  ascertained,  to  place  a  guard 
at  the  door,  and  keep  the  members  to  their  post  and 
to  their  duty.  My  object  in  this,  remarked  the  gene- 
ral, was,  that  then  they  would  be  able  to  proceed  with 
their  business  without  producing  the  slightest  injury : 
whatever  schemes  they  might  entertain  would  have 
remained  with  themselves,  without  the  power  of  cir- 
culating them  to  the  prejudice  of  any  other  interest 
than  their  own.  I  had  intended  to  have  had  them  well 
treated  and  kindly  dealt  by ;  and  thus  abstracted  from 
every  thing  passing  without  doors,  a  better  oppor- 
tunity would  have  been  afforded  them  to  enact  good 
and  wholesome  laws;  but  governor  Claiborne  mistook 
my  order,  and  instead  of  shutting  them  in  doors,  con- 
trary to  my  wishes  and  expectation,  turned  them  out. 

Before  this  he  had  been  called  on  by  a  special  com- 
mittee of  the  legislature  to  know  what  his  course 
would  be  should  necessity  compel  him  from  his  posi- 
tion ?  If,  replied  the  general,  I  thought  the  hair  of  my 
head  could  divine  what  I  should  do,  forthwith  I  would 
cut  it  off:  go  back  with  this  answer;  say  to  your  ho- 
nourable body,  that  if  disaster  does  overtake  me,  and 
the  fate  of  war  drives  me  from  my  line  to  the  city, 
they  may  expect  to  have  a  very  warm  session.  And 
what  did  you  design  to  do,  I  enquired,  provided  you 
had  been  forced  to  retreat.  I  should,  he  replied,  have 
retreated  to  the  city,  fired  it,  aiid  fought  the  enemy 


348  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

amidst  the  surrounding  flames.  There  were  with  me 
men  of  wealth,  owners  of  considerable  property,  who, 
in  such  an  event,  would  have  been  amongst  the  fore- 
most to  have  applied  the  torch  to  their  own  buildings ; 
and  what  they  had  left  undone,  I  should  have  com- 
pleted. Nothing  for  the  comfortable  maintenance  of 
the  enemy  would  have  been  left  in  the  rear.  I  would 
have  destroyed  New  Orleans — occupied  a  position 
above  on  the  river — cut  off  all  supplies,  and  in  this 
way  compelled  them  to  depart  from  the  country. 

We  shall  not  pretend  to  ascribe  this  conduct  of 
the  legislature  to  disaffection,  or  to  treasonable  mo- 
tives. The  impulse  that  produced  it  was,  no  doubt, 
interest — a  principle  of  the  human  mind  which  strongly 
sways,  and  often  destroys  its  best  conclusions.  The 
disparity  of  the  two  armies,  in  numbers,  preparation, 
and  discipline,  had  excited  apprehension,  and  destroy- 
ed hope.  If  Jackson  were  driven  back,  and  little  else 
was  looked  for,  rumour  fixed  his  determination  of  de- 
voting the  city  to  destruction :  but  even  if  such  were 
not  his  intention,  the  wrath  and  vengeance  of  the 
enemy  might  be  fairly  calculated  to  be  in  proportion 
to  the  opposition  they  should  receive.  Although  these 
considerations  may  somewhat  palliate,  they  do  not 
justify.  The  government  was  represented  in  the  per- 
son of  the  commanding  general,  on  whom  rested  all 
responsibility,  and  whose  voice  on  the  subject  of  re- 
sistance or  capitulation,  should  alone  have  been  heard. 
In  the  field  were  persons  who  were  enduring  hard- 
ships, arid  straining  every  nerve,  for  the  general  safety. 
A  few  of  the  members  of  their  own  body,  too,  were 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  349 

there,  who  did  not  despond.*  Might  not  patriotism, 
then,  have  admonished  these  men,  honoured  as  they 
were  with  the  confidence  of  the  people,  rather  to  have 
pursued  a  course,  having  for  its  object  to  keep  alive 
excitement,  than  to  have  endeavoured  to  introduce 
fear,  and  paralyze  exertion.  Such  conduct,  if  produc- 
tive of  nothing  worse,  was  well  calculated  to  excite 
alarm.  If  the  militia,  who  had  been  hastily  drawn  to 
the  camp,  and  who  were  yet  trembling  for  the  safety 
of  their  families,  had  been  told,  that  a  few  private 
men,  of  standing  in  society,  had  expressed  their  opin- 
ions, and  declared  resistance  useless,  it  would,  without 
doubt,  have  occasioned  serious  apprehensions ;  but,  in 
a  much  greater  degree  would  they  be  calculated  to 
arise,  when  told  that  the  members  of  the  legislature, 
chosen  to  preside  over  the  safety  and  destinies  of  the 
state,  after  due  deliberation,  had  pronounced  all  at- 
tempts at  successful  opposition,  vain  and  ineffectual. 

Here  was  an  additional  reason  why  expedients 
should  be  devised,  and  every  precaution  adopted,  to 
prevent  any  communication,  by  which  the  slightest  in- 
telligence should  be  had  of  our  situation,  already,  in- 
deed, sufficiently  deplorable.  Additional  guards  were 
posted  along  the  swamp,  on  both  sides  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, to  arrest  all  intercourse ;  while  on  the  river,  the 
common  highway,  watch  boats  were  constantly  plying 
during  the  night,  in  different  directions,  so  that  a  log 

*  Only  four  members  of  the  legislature  appeared  in  the  field,  to 
defend  their  country.  We  regret  not  knowing  the  name  of  one  of 
these  persons:  those  we  have  ascertained  are,  general  Garrigue 
Flojack,  major  Eziel,  and  Mr.  Bufort,  who,  abandoning  their  civil 
duties*for  the  field,  afforded  examples  worthy  of  imitation. 


350  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

could  scarcely  float  down  the  stream  unperceived. 
Two  flat-bottomed  boats,  on  a  dark  night,  were  turned 
adrift  above,  to  ascertain  if  vigilance  were  preserved, 
and  whether  there  would  be  any  possibility  of  escaping 
the  guards  and  passing  in  safety  to  the  British  lines. 
The  light  boats  discovered  them  on  their  passage,  and 
on  the  alarm  being  given,  they  were  opened  upon  by 
the  Louisiana  sloop,  and  the  batteries  on  the  shore, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  were  sunk.  In  spite,  however, 
of  every  precaution,  treason  still  discovered  avenues 
through  which  to  project  and  execute  her  nefarious 
plans,  and  through  them  wras  constantly  afforded  in- 
formation to  the  enemy ;  carried  to  them,  no  doubt,  by 
adventurous  friends,  who  sought  and  effected  their 
nightly  passage  through  the  deepest  parts  of  the 
swamp,  where  it  was  impossible  for  sentinels  to  be 
stationed.* 

Great  inconvenience  was  sustained  for  the  want  of 
arms,  and  much  anxiety  felt,  lest  the  enemy,  through 
their  faithful  adherents,  might,  on  this  subject  also, 
obtain  information ;  to  prevent  it,  as  far  as  possible, 
general  Jackson  endeavoured  to  conceal  the  strength 
and  situation  of  his  army,  by  suffering  his  reports  to 
be  seen  by  none  but  himself  and  the  adjutant-general. 
Many  of  the  troops  in  the  field  were  supplied  with 
common  guns,  which  were  of  little  service.  The  Ken- 
tucky troops,  daily  expected,  were  also  understood  to 
be  badly  provided  with  arms.  Uncertain  but  that  the 
city  might  yet  contain  many  articles  that  would  be 
serviceable,  orders  were  issued  to  the  mayor  of  New 

r'vi.'.^ 

*  See  note  G.  * 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  351. 

Orleans,  directing  him  diligently  to  inquire  through 
every  store  and  house,  and  take  possession  of  all 
the  muskets,  bayonets,  spades,  and  axes  he  could 
find.  Understanding  too,  there  were  many  young 
men,  who,  from  different  pretexts,  had  not  appeared 
in  the  field,  he  was  instructed  to  obtain  a  register  of 
every  man  in  the  city,  under  the  age  of  fifty,  that 
measures  might  be  concerted  for  drawing  forth  those 
who  had  hitherto  appeared  backward  in  engaging  in 
the  pending  contest. 

Frequent  light  skirmishes,  by  advanced  parties, 
without  material  effect  on  either  side,  were  the  only 
incidents  that  took  place  for  several  days.  Colonel 
Hinds,  at  the  head  of  the  Mississippi  dragoons,  on  the 
30th,  was  ordered  to  dislodge  a  party  of  the  enemy, 
who,  under  cover  of  a  ditch  that  ran  across  the  plain, 
were  annoying  our  fatigue  parties.  In  his  advance,  he 
was  unexpectedly  thrown  into  an  ambuscade,  and  be- 
came exposed  to  the  fire  of  a  line,  which  had  hitherto 
lain  concealed  and  unobserved.  His  collected  con- 
duct, and  gallant  deportment,  gained  him  and  his  corps 
the  approbation  of  the  commanding  general,  and  ex- 
tricated him  from  the  danger  in  which  he  was  placed. 
The  enemy,  forced  from  their  position,  retired,  and 
he  returned  to  the  line,  with  the  loss  of  five  of  his 
men 


CHAPTER  X. 

Attack  of  the  1st  of  January. — General  Jackson's  line  of  defence. — Ken- 
tucky troops  arrive  at  head-quarters. — British  army  reinforced  ;  their 
preparations  for  attack. — Battle  of  the  8th  of  January ,  and  repulse  of 
the  enemy. — American  redoubt  carried,  and  retaken. — Colonel  Thorn- 
ton proceeds  against  general  Morgans  line,  and  takes  possession  of  it. — 
Letter  of  captain  Wilkinson. — British  watch  'word. — Generous  conduct 
of  the  American  soldiers. — Morgan's  line  regained. — General  Lambert 
requests  a  suspension  of  hostilities. — Armistice  concluded. — Execution 
of  an  American  soldier  by  the  British. 

THE  British  were  encamped  two  miles  below  the 
American  army,  on  a  perfect  plain,  and  in  full  view. 
Although  foiled  in  their  attempt  to  carry  our  works  by 
the  force  of  their  batteries,  on  the  28th,  they  yet  resolv- 
ed upon  another  attack,  and  one  which  they  believed 
would  be  more  successful.  Presuming  their  failure 
to  have  arisen  from  not  having  sufficiently  strong  bat- 
teries, and  heavy  ordnance,  a  more  enlarged  arrange- 
ment was  resorted  to,  with  a  confidence  of  silencing 
opposition,  and  effecting  such  breaches  in  our  entrench- 
ment as  would  enable  their  columns  to  pass,  without 
being  exposed  to  any  considerable  hazard.  The  inte- 
rim between  the  28th  of  December  and  1st  of  January 
was  accordingly  spent  in  preparing  to  execute  their 
designs.  Their  boats  had  been  despatched  to  the  ship- 
ping, and  an  additional  supply  of  heavy  cannon  landed 
through  Bayou  Bienvenu,  whence  they  had  first  de- 
barked. 

During  the  night  of  the  31st,  they  were  busily  en- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  353 

gaged.  An  impenetrable  fog,  next  morning,  which  was 
not  dispelled  until  nine  o'clock,  by  concealing  their 
purpose,  aided  them  in  the  plans  they  were  projecting, 
and  gave  time  for  the  completion  of  their  works.  This 
having  disappeared,  several  heavy  batteries^  at  the  dis- 
tance of  six  hundred  yards,  mounting  eighteen  and 
twenty-four  pound  carronades,  were  presented  to  view* 
No  sooner  was  it  sufficiently  clear  to  distinguish  ob- 
jects at  a  distance,  than  these  were  opened,  and  a  tre- 
mendous burst  of  artillery  commenced,  accompanied 
with  congreve  rockets,  that  filled  the  air  in  all  direc- 
tions. Our  troops,  protected  by  a  defence,  which, 
from  their  constant  labours  and  exertions,  they  believ- 
ed to  be  impregnable,  unmoved  and  undisturbed,  main- 
tained their  ground,  and,  by  their  skilful  management, 
in  the  end,  succeeded  in  dismounting  and  silencing  the 
guns  of  the  enemy.  The  British,  through  the  friendly 
interference  of  some  disaffected  citizens,  having  been 
apprized  of  the  situation  of  the  general's  quarters,  that 
he  dwelt  in  a  house  at  a  small  distance  in  the  rear  of 
his  line  of  defence,  against  it  directed  their  first  and 
principal  efforts,  with  a  view  to  destroy  the  commander. 
So  great  was  the  number  of  balls  thrown,  that,  in  a  little 
while,  its  porticos  were  beaten  down,  and  the  building 
made  a  complete  wreck.  In  this  dishonourable  design, 
they  were,  however,  disappointed ;  for,  with  Jackson  it 
was  a  constant  practice,  on  the  first  appearance  of  dan- 
ger, not  to  wait  in  his  quarters,  watching  events,  but 
instantly  to  proceed  to  the  line,  and  be  ready  to  form 
his  arrangements  as  circumstances  might  require. 
Constantly  in  expectation  of  a  charge,  he  was  never 
absent  from  the  post  of  danger;  and  thither  he  had 
this  morning  repaired,  at  the  first  sound  of  the  cannon. 


SY 


354  LIFE  £>F  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

to  aid  in  defence,  and  inspire  his  troops  with  firmness. 
Our  guns,  along  the  line,  now  opened,  to  repel  the 
assault,  and  a  constant  roar  of  cannon,  on  both  sides, 
continued  until  nearly  noon ;  when,  by  the  superior 
skill  of  our  engineers,  the  two  batteries  formed  on  the 
right,  next  the  woods^  were  nearly  beaten  down,  and 
many  of  the  guns  dismounted,  broken,  and  rendered 
useless.  That  next  the  river  still  continued  its  fire, 
until  three  o'clock ;  when,  perceiving  all  attempts  to 
force  a  breach  ineffectual,  the  enemy  gave  up  the  con- 
test^ and  retired.  Every  act  of  theirs  discovers  a  strange 
delusion*  and  unfolds  on  what  wild  and  fanciful  grounds, 
all  their  expectations  were  founded.  That  the  Ameri- 
can troops  were  well  posted,  and  strongly  defended  by 
pieces  of  heavy  ordnance  mounted  along  their  line, 
was  a  fact  well  known ;  yet  a  belief  was  confidently  in- 
dulged, that  the  undisciplined  collection  which  consti- 
tuted the  strength  of  our  army,  would  be  able  to  derive 
little  benefit  from  such  a  circumstance ;  and  that  artil- 
lery could  produce  but  slight  advantages  in  the  hands 
of  persons  who  were  strangers  to  the  manner  of  using 
it.  That  many  who,  from  necessity,  were  called  to 
the  direction  of  the  guns,  were  at  first  entirely  unac- 
quainted with  their  management,  is  indeed  true ;  yet 
the  accuracy  and  precision  with  which  they  threw  their 
shot,  afforded  a  convincing  argument,  either  that  they 
possessed  the  capacity  of  becoming,  in  a  short  time, 
well  acquainted  with  the  art  of  gunnery,  or  that  it  was 
a  science,  the  acquiring  of  which  was  not  attended 
with  incalculable  difficulties. 

That  they  would  be  able  to  effect  an  opening,  and 
march  through  the  strong  defence  in  their  front,  was. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  355 

an  idea  so  fondly  cherished  by  our  assailants,  that  an 
apprehension  of  failure  had  scarcely  ever  occurred. 
So  sanguine  were  they  in  this  belief,  that,  early  in  the 
morning,  their  soldiers  were  arranged  along  the  ditches, 
in  rear  of  their  batteries,  prepared  and  ready  to  advance 
to  the  charge,  the  moment  a  breach  could  be  made. 
Here,  by  their  situation,  protected  from  danger,  they 
remained,  waiting  the  result  that  should  call  them  to 
act.  But  their  efforts  not  having  produced  the  slightest 
impression,  nor  their  rockets  the  effect  of  driving  our 
militia  away,  they  abandoned  the  contest,  and  retired  to 
their  camp,  leaving  their  batteries  materially  injured — 
nay,  well  nigh  destroyed. 

Perceiving  their  attempts  must  fail,  and  that  such 
an  effect  could  not  be  produced,  as  would  warrant 
their  advance,  another  expedient  was  resorted  to>  but 
with  no  better  success.  It  occurred  to  the  British 
commander,  an  attack  might  be  made  to  advantage 
next  the  woods,  and  a  force  was  accordingly  ordered 
to  penetrate  in  this  direction,  and  turn  the  left  of  our 
line,  which  was  supposed  not  to  extend  further  than 
to  the  margin  of  the  swamp.  In  this  way,  it  was*  ex- 
pected a  diversion  could  be  made,  while  the  reserve 
columns,  being  in  readiness,  and  waiting,  were  to  press 
forward  the  moment  this  object  could  be  effected. — 
Here,  too,  disappointment  resulted.  Coffee's  brigade, 
being  already  extended  into  the  swamp,  as  far  as  it 
was  possible  for  an  advancing  party  to  penetrate, 
brought  unexpected  dangers  into  view,  and  occasioned 
an  abandonment  of  the  project.  That  to  turn  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  line  was  practicable,  and  might  be 
attempted,  was  the  subject  of  early  consideration ;  and 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSOA. 


necessary  precaution  had  been  taken  to  prevent  it,  — 
Although  cutting  the  levee  had  raised  the  waters  in 
the  swamp,  and  increased  the  difficulties  of  keeping 
troops  there,  yet  a  fear  lest  this  pass  might  be  sought 
by  the  enemy,  and  the  rear  of  the  line  thereby  gained, 
Jiad  determined  the  general  to  extend  his  defence  even 
here.  This  had  been  entrusted  to  general  Coffee  ;  and 
surely  a  more  arduous  duty  can  scarcely  be  imagined. 
To  form  a  breast-work,  in  such  a  place,  was  attended 
with  many  difficulties,  and  considerable  exposure.  A 
slight  defence,  however,  had  been  thrown  up,  and  the 
underwood,  for  thirty  or  forty  yards  in  front,  cut  down, 
that  the  riflemen,  stationed  for  its  protection,  might 
have  a  complete  view  of  any  force,  which,  through  this 
route,  might  attempt  a  passage.  When  it  is  recollected, 
that  this  position  was  to  be  maintained  night  and  day, 
uncertain  of  the  moment  of  attack,  and  that  the  only 
opportunity  afforded  our  troops  for  rest,  was  on  logs 
and  brush,  thrown  together,  by  which  they  were  raised 
above  the  surrounding  water,  it  may  be  truly  said,  that 
seldom  has  it  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  to  encounter 
greater  hardships  :  but,  accustomed  to  privation,  and 
alive  to  those  feelings  which  a  love  of  country  inspires, 
they  obeyed  without  complaining,  and  cheerfully  kept 
their  position  until  all  danger  had  subsided.  S.ensible 
of  the  importance  of  the  point  they  defended,  and  that 
it  was  necessary  to  be  maintained,  be  the  sacrifice 
what  it  might,  they  looked  to  nothing  but  a  zealous 
and  faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  confided  to  them. 

Our  loss,  in  this  affair,  was  eleven  killed,  and  twen- 
ty 4hree  wounded  :  that  of  the  enemy  was  never  cor- 
rectly known.  The  only  certain  information  is  con* 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  357 

tained  in  a  communication  of  the  28th  instant  from 
general  Lambert  to  earl  Bathurst,  in  which  the  casu- 
alties and  losses,  from  the  1st  to  the  5th,  are  stated  at 
seventy-eight  Many  allowances,  however,  are  to  be 
made  for  this  report.  It  was  written  at  a  time,  when* 
from  the  numerous  disasters  encountered,  it  was  not 
to  be  presumed  the  general's  mind  was  in  a  situation 
patiently  to  remember,  or  minutely  to  detail  the  facts. 
From  the  great  precision  of  our  fire,  and  the  injury 
visibly  sustained  by  their  batteries,  their  loss  was,  no 
doubt,  considerable.  The  enemy's  heavy  shot  having 
penetrated  our  entrenchment,  in  many  places,  it  was 
discovered  not  to  be  as  strong  as  had  at  first  been  ima- 
gined. Fatigue  parties  were  again  employed,  and  its 
strength  daily  increased :  an  additional  number  of  bales 
of  cotton  were  taken  to  be  applied  to  strengthening 
and  defending  the  embrasures  along  the  line.  A 
Frenchman,  whose  property  had  been  thus,  without 
his  consent,  seized,  fearful  of  the  injury  it  might  sus- 
tain, proceeded  in  person  to  general  Jackson,  to  re- 
claim it,  and  to  demand  its  delivery.  The  general 
having  heard  his  complaint,  and  ascertained  from  him 
that  he  was  unemployed  in  any  military  service,  di- 
rected a  musket  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  placing  it 
in  his  hand,  ordered  him  on  the  line,  remarking  at  the 
same  time,  that  as  he  seemed  to  be  a  man  possessed 
of  property,  he  knew  of  none  who  had  a  better  right 
to  fight,  and  to  defend  it. 


The  British  had  again  retired  to  their  encampment. 
It  was  well  understood  by  Jackson,  that  they  were  in 
daily  expectation  of  considerable  reinforcements ; 
though  he  rested  with  confidence  in  the  belief,  that  a 


358  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

few  more  days  would  also  bring  to  his  assistance  the 
troops  from  Kentucky.  Each  party,  therefore,  was 
busily  and  constantly  engaged  in  preparation,  the  one 
to  wage  a  vigorous  attack,  the  other  bravely  to  defend, 
and  resolutely  to  oppose  it. 

The  position  of  the  American  army  was  in  the  rear 
of  an  entrenchment  formed  of  earth,  and  which  ex- 
tended in  a  straight  line  from  the  river  to  a  consider- 
able distance  in  the  swamp.  In  front  was  a  deep  ditch, 
which  had  been  formerly  used  as  a  mill-race.  The  Mis- 
sissippi had  receded  and  left  this  dry,  next  the  river, 
though  in  many  places  the  water  still  remained.  Along 
the  line,  and  at  unequal  distances,  to  the  centre  of  ge- 
neral Carroll's  command,  were  guns  mounted,  of  dif- 
ferent caliber,  from  six  to  thirty-two  pounders.  Near 
the  river,  and  in  advance  of  the  entrenchment,  was 
erected  a  redoubt,  with  embrasures,  commanding  the 
road  along  the  levee,  and  calculated  to  rake  the  ditch 
in  front. 

We  have  heretofore  stated,  that  general  Morgan 
was  ordered,  on  the  24th  of  December,  to  cross  to  the 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  From  an  apprehension 
entertained  that  an  attempt  might  be  made  through 
Barrataria,  and  the  city  reached  from  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  the  general  had  extended  his  defence 
there  likewise :  in  fact,  unacquainted  with  the  enemy's 
views, — not  knowing  the  number  of  their  troops,  nor, 
but  that  they  might  have  sufficient  strength  to  wage 
an  attack  in  various  directions,  and  anxiously  solicit- 
ous to  be  prepared  at  all  points,  he  had  carefully  di- 
vided out  his  forces,  that  he  might  guard,  and  be  able 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  353 

to  protect,  in  whatever  direction  an  assault  should  be; 
waged.  His  greatest  fears,  and  hence  his  strongest 
defence,  next  to  the  one  occupied  by  himself,  was  on 
the  Chef  Menteur  road,  where  governor  Claiborne,  at 
the  head  of  the  Louisiana  militia,  was  posted.  The 
position  on  the  right  was  formed  on  the  same  plan 
with  the  line  on  the  left, — lower  down  than  that  on 
the  left,  and  extending  to  the  swamp  at  right  angles 
to  the  river.  Here  general  Morgan  commanded. 

To  be  prepared  against  every  possible  contingency 
that  might  arise,  Jackson  had  established  another  line- 
of  defence,  about  two  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  one  at 
present  occupied,  which  was  intended  as  a  rallying 
point,  in  the  event  he  should  be  driven  from  his  first 
position.  With  the  aid  of  his  cavalry,  to  give  a  mo- 
mentary check  to  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  he  ex- 
pected to  be  enabled,  with  inconsiderable  injury,  to 
reach  it ;  where  he  would  again  have  advantages  on 
his  side — be  in  a  situation  to  dispute  a  further  pas- 
sage ta^the  city,  and  arrest  their  progress.  To  in- 
spirit hifJSown  soldiers,  and  to  exhibit  to  the  enemy  as 
great  a  show  as  possible  of  strength  and  intended  re- 
sistance, his  unarmed  troops,  which  constituted  no 
very  inconsiderable  number,  were  here  stationed.  All 
intercourse  between  the  lines,  but  by  confidential  offi- 
cers, was  prohibited,  and  every  precaution  and  vigi- 
lance employed,  not  only  to  keep  this  want  of  prepa- 
ration concealed  from  the  enemy,  but  even  from  being 
known  on  his  own  lines. 

Occasional  firing  at  a  distance,  which  produced  no- 


360  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

thing  of  consequence,  was  all  that  marked  the  interim 
from  the  1st  to  the  8th. 

On  the  4th  of  this  month,  the  long-expected  rein- 
J^N,  forcement  from  Kentucky,  amounting  to  twenty-two 
vhundred  and  fifty,  under  the  command  of  major-gene- 
ral Thomas,  arrived  at  head-quarters ;  but  so  ill  pro- 
vided with  arms,  as  to  be  incapable  of  rendering  any 
considerable  service.  The  alacrity  with  which  the 
citizens  of  this  state  had  proceeded  to  the  frontiers, 
and  aided  in  the  north-western  campaigns,  added  to 
the  disasters  which  ill-timed  policy  or  misfortune  had 
produced,  had  created  such  a  drain,  that  arms  were 
not  to  be  procured.  They  had  advanced,  however,  to 
their  point  of  destination,  with  an  expectation  of  be- 
ing supplied  on  their  arrival.  About  five  hundred  of 
them  had  muskets ;  the  rest  were  provided  with  guns, 
from  which  little  or  no  advantage  could  be  expected. 
The  mayor  of  New  Orleans,  at  the  request  of  general 
Jackson,  had  already  examined  and  drawn  from  the 
city  every  weapon  that  could  be  found ;  while  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Louisiana  militia,  in  an  equally  unprepared 
situation,  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  evil  to  be  ef- 
fectually remedied.  A  boat,  laden  with  arms,  was 
somewhere  on  the  river,  intended  for  the  use  and  de- 
fence of  the  lower  country ;  but  where  it  was,  or  when 
it  might  arrive,  rested  alone  on  hope  and  conjecture^ 
Expresses  had  been  despatched  up  the  river,  for  three 
hundred  miles,  to  seek  and  hasten  it  on ;  still  there 
were  no  tidings  of  an  approach.  That  so  many  brave 
men,  at  a  moment  of  such  anxious  peril,  should  be 
compelled  to  stand  with  folded  arms,  unable,  from 
their  situation,  to  render  the  least  possible  service  to 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  36 1 

their  country,  was  an  event  greatly  to  be  deplored, 
and  did  not  fail  to  excite  the  feelings  and  sensibility 
of  the  commanding  general.  His  mind,  active,  and 
prepared  for  any  thing  but  despondency,  sought  relief 
in  vain; — there  was  none.  No  alternative  was  pre- 
sented, but  to  place  them  at  his  entrenchment  in  the 
rear,  conceal  their  actual  condition,  and  by  the  show 
they  might  make,  add  to  his  appearance  and  numbers, 
without  at  all  increasing  his  strength. 

Information  was  now  received  that  major-general 
Lambert  had  joined  the  British  commander-in-chief, 
with  a  considerable  reinforcement.  It  had  been  here- 
tofore announced  in  the  American  camp,  that  additional 
forces  were  expected,  and  something  decisive  might  be 
looked  for,  so  soon  as  they  should  arrive.  This  cir- 
cumstance, in  connexion  with  others,  110  less  favouring 
the  idea,  had  led  to  the  conclusion  that  a  few  days 
more  would,  in  all  probability,  bring  on  the  struggle 
which  would  decide  the  fate  of  the  city.  It  was  more 
than  ever  necessary  to  keep  concealed  the  situation  of 
his  army ;  and,  above  all,  to  preserve  as  secret  as  pos- 
sible, its  unarmed  condition.  To  restrict  all  communi- 
cation, even  with  his  own  lines,  was  now,  as  danger 
increased,  rendered  more  important.  None  were  per- 
mitted to  leave  the  line,  and  none  from  without  to  pass 
into  his  camp,  but  such  as  were  to  be  implicitly  confi- 
ded in.  The  line  of  sentinels  was  strengthened  in 
front,  that  none  might  pass  to  the  enemy,  should 
desertion  be  attempted :  yet,  notwithstanding  this  pre- 
caution and  care,  his  plans  and  situation  were  disclosed. 
On  the  night  of  the  6th,  a  soldier  from  the  line,  by 
some  means,  succeeded  in  eluding  the  vigilance  of  our 

2  z 


362  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

sentinels.  Early  next  morning,  his  departure  was 
discovered :  it  was  at  once  correctly  conjectured  he 
had  gone  over  to  the  enemy,  and  would,  no  doubt, 
afford  them  all  the  information  in  his  power  to  com- 
municate. This  opinion,  as  subsequent  circumstances 
disclosed,  was  well-founded ;  and  dearly  did  he  atone 
his  crime.  He  unfolded  to  the  British  the  situation  of 
the  American  line;  the  late  reinforcements  we  had  re- 
ceived, and  the  unarmed  condition  of  many  of  the 
troops ;  and,  pointing  to  the  centre  of  general  Carroll's 
division,  as  a  place  occupied  by  militia  alone,  recom- 
mended it  as  the  point  where  an  attack  might  be  most 
prudently  and  safely  made. 

Other  intelligence  received  was  confirmatory  of  the 
belief  of  an  impending  attack.  From  some  prisoners, 
taken  on  the  lake,  it  was  ascertained  the  enemy  were 
busily  engaged  in  deepening  Villery's  canal,  with  a 
view  of  passing  their  boats  and  ordnance  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. During  the  7th,  a  constant  bustle  was  per- 
ceived in  the  British  camp.  Along  the  borders  of  the 
canal,  their  soldiers  were  continually  in  motion,  march- 
ing and  manoeuvring,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  con- 
ceal those  who  were  busily  engaged  at  work  in  the 
rear.  To  ascertain  the  cause  of  this  uncommon  stir, 
and  learn  their  designs,  as  far  as  was  practicable, 
commodore  Patterson  had  proceeded  down  the  river, 
on  the  opposite  side,  and,  having  gained  a  favourable 
position,  in  front  of  their  encampment,  discovered  them 
to  be  actually  engaged  in  deepening  the  passage  to  the 
river.  It  was  no  difficult  matter  to  divine  their  pur- 
pose. No  other  conjecture  could  be  entertained,  than 
that  an  assault  was  intended  to  be  made  on  the  line 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  363 

of  defence  commanded  by  general  Morgan ;  which,  if 
gained,  would  expose  our  troops  on  the  left  bank  to 
the  fire  of  the  redoubt  erected  on  the  right ;  and  in 
this  way  compel  them  to  an  abandonment  of  their 
position.  To  counteract  this  scheme  was  important ; 
and  measures  were  immediately  taken  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  a  plan,  which,  if  successful,  would  be 
attended  with  incalculable  dangers.  An  increased 
strength  was  given  to  this  line.  The  second  regiment 
of  Louisiana  militia,  and  four  hundred  Kentucky  troops, 
were  directed  to  be  crossed  over,  to  reinforce  and 
protect  it.  Owing  to  some  delay  and  difficulty  in 
arming  them,  the  latter,  amounting,  instead  of  four 
hundred,  to  but  one  hundred  and  eighty,  did  not  ar- 
rive until  the  morning  of  the  8th.  A  little  before  day, 
they  were  despatched  to  aid  an  advanced  party,  who, 
under  the  command  of  major  Arnaut,  had  been  sent  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  oppose  their 
landing.  The  hopes  indulged  from  their  opposition 
were  not  realized ;  and  the  enemy,  unmolested,  reach- 
ed the  shore. 

Morgan's  position,  besides  being  strengthened  by 
several  brass  twelves,  was  defended  by  a  strong 
battery,  mounting  twenty-four  pounders,  directed 
by  commodore  Patterson,  which  afforded  additional 
strength  and  security.  The  line  itself  was  not  strong ; 
yet,  if  properly  maintained  by  the  troops  selected  to 
defend  it,  was  believed  fully  adequate  to  the  purposes 
of  successful  resistance.  Late  at  night,  Patterson  as- 
certained that  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  passing 
their  boats  through  the  canal,  and  immediately  com- 
municated his  information  to  the  general.  The  com- 


364  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

modore  had  already  formed  the  idea  of  dropping  the 
Louisiana  schooner  down,  to  attack  and  sink  them. 
This  thought,  though  well  conceived,  was  abandoned, 
from  the  danger  involved,  and  from  an  apprehension 
lest  the  batteries  erected  on  the  river,  with  which  she 
would  come  in  collision,  might,  by  the  aid  of  hot  shot, 
succeed  in  blowing  her  up.  It  was  preferred  patiently 
to  await  their  arrival,  believing  it  would  be  practica- 
ble, with  the  bravery  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
men,  and  the  slender  advantages  possessed  from  their 
line  of  defence,  to  maintain  their  position,  and  repel  the 
assailants. 

On  the  left  bank,  where  the  general  in  person  com- 
manded, every  thing  was  in  readiness  to  meet  the  as- 
sault when  it  should  be  made.  The  redoubt  on  the 
levee  was  defended  by  a  company  of  the  seventh  re- 
giment, under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Ross.  The 
regular  troops  occupied  that  part  of  the  entrenchment 
next  the  river.  General  Carroll's  division  was  in  the 
centre,  supported  by  the  Kentucky  troops,  under  ge- 
neral John  Adair ;  while  the  extreme  left,  extending 
for  a  considerable  distance  into  the  swamp,  was  pro- 
tected by  the  brigade  of  general  Coffee.  How  soon 
the  attack  should  be  waged,  was  uncertain ;  at  what 
moment,  rested  with  the  enemy, — with  us,  to  be  in 
readiness  for  resistance.  There  were  many  circum- 
stances, however,  favouring  the  belief,  that  the  hour  of 
contest  was  not  far  distant,  and  indeed  fast  approach- 
ing; the  bustle  of  to-day, — the  efforts  to  carry  their 
boats  into  the  river, — the  fascines  and  scaling-ladders 
that  were  preparing,  were  circumstances  pointing  to 
attack,  and  indicating  the  hour  to  be  near  at  hand. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  365 

General  Jackson,  unmoved  by  appearances,  anxiously 
desired  a  contest,  which  he  believed  would  give  a  tri- 
umph to  his  arms,  and  terminate  the  hardships  of  his 
suffering  soldiers.  Unremitting  in  exertion,  and  con- 
stantly vigilant,  his  precaution  kept  pace  with  the  zeal 
and  preparation  of  the  enemy.  He  seldom  slept :  he 
was  always  at  his  post,  performing  the  duties  of  both 
general  and  soldier.  His  sentinels  were  doubled,  and 
extended  as  far  as  possible  in  the  direction  of  the 
British  camp ;  while  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
troops  were  constantly  at  the  line,  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  ready  to  act,  when  the  first  alarm  should  be 
given. 

For  eight  days  had  the  two  armies  lain  upon  the 
same  field,  and  in  view  of  each  other,  without  any 
thing  decisive  being  on  either  side  effected.  Twice, 
since  their  landing,  had  the  British  columns  essayed  to 
effect  by  storm  the  execution  of  their  plans,  and  twice 
had  failed — been  compelled  to  relinquish  the  attempt, 
and  retire  from  the  contest.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  things  could  long  remain  in  this  dubious  state. 
Soldiers,  the  pride  of  England, — the  boasted  conquerors 
of  Europe,  were  there ;  distinguished  generals  were 
their  leaders,  who  earnestly  desired  to  announce  to 
their  country,  and  the  world,  their  signal  achievements. 
The  high  expectations  which  had  been  indulged  of  the 
success  of  this  expedition,  were  to  be  realized,  at  every 
peril,  or  disgrace  would  follow  the  failure. 

The  8th  of  January  at  length  arrived.  The  day 
dawned ;  and  the  signals,  intended  to  produce  concert 
in  the  enemy's  movements,  were  descried.  On  the 


366  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

left,  near  the  swamp,  a  sky-rocket  was  perceived  rising 
in  the  air ;  and  presently  another  ascended  from  the 
right,  next  the  river.  They  were  intended  to  announce 
that  all  was  prepared  and  ready,  to  proceed  and  carry 
by  storm  a  defence  which  had  twice  foiled  their  utmost 
efforts.  Instantly  the  charge  was  made,  and  with  such 
rapidity,  that  our  soldiers,  at  the  out  posts,  with  diffi- 
culty fled  in. 

The  British  batteries,  which  had  been  demolished 
on  the  1st  of  the  month,  had  been  re-established  during 
the  preceding  night,  and  heavy  pieces  of  cannon 
mounted,  to  aid  in  their  intended  operations.  These 
now  opened,  and  showers  of  bombs  and  balls  were 
poured  upon  our  line ;  while  the  air  was  lighted  with 
their  congreve  rockets.  The  two  divisions,  commanded 
by  Sir  Edward  Packenham  in  person,  and  supported 
by  generals  Keane  and  Gibbs,  pressed  forward ;  the 
right  against  the  centre  of  general  Carroll's  command, — 
the  left  against  our  redoubt  on  the  levee.  A  thlck^og, 
that  obscured  the'morning,  enabled  them  to  approach 
within  a  short  distance  of  our  entrenchment,  before 
they  were  discovered.  They  were  now  perceived  ad- 
vancing, with  firm,  quick,  and  steady  pace,  in  column, 
with  a  front  of  sixty  or  seventy  deep.  Our  troops, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  in  readiness,  and  waiting 
their  appearance,  gave  three  cheers,  and  instantly  the 
whole  line  was  lighted  with  the  blaze  of  their  fire.  A 
burst  of  artillery  and  small  arms,  pouring  with  de- 
structive aim  upon  them,  mowed  down  their  front,  and 
arrested  their  advance.  In  our  musketry  there  was 
not  a  moment's  intermission ;  as  one  party  discharged 
their  pieces,  another  succeeded;  alternately  loading 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  367 

and  appearing,  no  pause  could  be  perceived, — it  was 
one  continued  volley.  The  columns  already  perceived 
their  dangerous  and  exposed  situation.  Battery  No.  7, 
on  the  left,  was  ably  served  by  lieutenant  Spotts,  and 
galled  them  with  an  incessant  and  destructive  fire. 
Batteries  No.  6  and  8  were  no  less  actively  employed, 
and  no  less  successful  in  felling  them  to  the  ground. 
Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  our  fire,  which  few 
troops  could  for  a  moment  have  withstood,  some  of 
those  brave  men  pressed  on,  and  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  ditch,  in  front  of  our  works,  where  they  remained 
during  the  action,  and  were  afterwards  made  prisoners. 
The  horror  before  them  was  too  great  to  be  withstood ; 
and  already  were  the  British  troops  seen  wavering  in 
their  determination,  and  receding  from  the  conflict. 
At  this  moment,  Sir  Edward  Packenham,  hastening  to 
the  front,  endeavoured  to  encourage  and  inspire  them 
with  renewed  zeal.  His  example  was  of  short  continu- 
ance :  he  soon  fell,  mortally  wounded,  in  the  arms  of 
his  aid-de-camp,  not  far  from  our  line.  Generals  Gibbs 
and  Keane  also  fell,  and  were  borne  from  the  field, 
dangerously  wounded.  At  this  moment,  general  Lam- 
bert, who  was  advancing  at  a  small  distance  in  the 
rear,  with  the  reserve,  met  the  columns  precipitately 
retreating,  and  in  great  confusion.  His  efforts  to  stop 
them  were  unavailing, — they  continued  retreating,  un- 
til they  reached  a  ditch,  at  the  distance  of  four  hun- 
dred yards,  where  a  momentary  safety  being  found, 
they  were  rallied,  and  halted. 

The  field  before  them,  over  which  they  had  ad- 
vanced, was  strewed  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Dan- 
ger hovered  still  around ;  yet,  urged  and  encouraged 


368  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

by  their  officers,  who  feared  their  own  disgrace  in- 
volved in  the  failure,  they  again  moved  to  the  charge. 
They  were  already  near  enough  to  deploy,  and  were 
endeavouring  to  do  so ;  but  the  same  constant  and  un- 
remitted  resistance  that  caused  their  first  retreat,  con- 
tinued yet  unabated.  Our  batteries  had  never  ceased 
their  fire ;  their  constant  discharges  of  grape  and  can- 
ister, and  the  fatal  aim  of  our  musketry,  mowed  down 
the  front  of  the  columns  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
formed.  Satisfied  nothing  could  be  done,  and  that 
certain  destruction  awaited  all  further  attempts,  they 
forsook  the  contest  and  the  field  in  disorder,  leaving 
it  almost  entirely  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded. 
It  was  in  vain  their  officers  endeavoured  to  animate 
them  to  further  resistance,  and  equally  vain  to  attempt 
coercion.  The  panic  produced  from  the  dreadful  re- 
pulse they  had  experienced ;  the  plain,  on  which  they 
had  acted,  being  covered  with  innumerable  bodies  of 
their  countrymen;  while,  with  their  most  zealous  ex- 
ertions, they  had  been  unable  to  obtain  the  slight- 
est advantage,  were  circumstances  well  calculated  to 
make  even  the  most  submissive  soldier  oppose  the 
authority  that  would  have  controled  him. 

The  light  companies  of  fusileers ;  the  forty-third  and 
ninety-third  regiments,  and  one  hundred  men  from  the 
West  India  regiment,  led  on  by  colonel  Rennie,  were 
ordered  to  proceed  under  cover  of  some  chimneys, 
standing  in  the  field,  until  having  cleared  them,  to 
oblique  to  the  river,  and  advance,  protected  by  the 
levee,  against  our  redoubt  on  the  right.  This  work, 
having  been  but  lately  commenced,  was  in  an  unfinish- 
ed state.  It  was  not  until  the  4th,  that  general  Jack- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  369 

son,  much  against  his  own  opinion,  had  yielded  to  the 
suggestions  of  others,  and  permitted  its  projection ; 
and,  considering  the  plan  on  which  it  had  been  sketch- 
ed, had  not  yet  received  that  strength  necessary  to  its 
safe  defence.  The  detachment  ordered  against  this 
place,  formed  the  left  of  general  Keane's  command. 
Rennie  executed  his  orders  with  great  bravery ;  and, 
urging  forward,  arrived  at  the  ditch.  His  advance  was 
greatly  annoyed  by  commodore  Patterson's  battery  on 
the  left  bank,  and  the  cannon  mounted  on  the  redoubt; 
but  reaching  our  works,  and  passing  the  ditch,  Ren- 
nie, sword  in  hand,  leaped  on  the  wall,  and  calling  to 
his  troops,  bade  them  follow ;  he  had  scarcely  spoken, 
when  he  fell  by  the  fatal  aim  of  our  riflemen.  Press- 
ed by  the  impetuosity  of  superior  numbers,  who  were 
mounting  the  wall,  and  entering  at  the  embrasures, 
our  troops  had  retired  to  the  line,  in  rear  of  the  re- 
doubt. A  momentary  pause  ensued,  but  only  to  be 
interrupted  with  increased  horrors.  Captain  BeaL, 
with  the  city  riflemen,  cool  and  self-possessed,  per- 
ceiving the  enemy  in  his  front,  opened  upon  them,  and 
at  every  discharge  brought  the  object  to  the  ground. 
To  advance,  or  maintain-  the  point  gained,  was  equally 
impracticable  for  the  enemy :  to  retreat  or  surrender 
was  the  only  alternative;  for  they  already  perceived 
the  division  on  the  right  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
hastily  leaving  the  field. 

General  Jackson  being  informed  of  the  success  of 
the  enemy  on  the  right,  and  of  their  being  in  posses- 
sion of  the  redoubt,  pressed  forward  a  reinforcement 
to  regain  it.  Previously  to  its  arrival  they  had  aban- 
doned the  attempt,  and  were  retiring.  They  were  se- 

,3  A 


370  LIFE  OF  QEiNEKAL  JACJKSOft. 

verely  galled  by  such  of  our  guns  as  could  be  brought 
to  bear.  The  levee  afforded  them  considerable  pro- 
tection ;  yet  by  commodore  Patterson's  redoubt,  on 
the  right  bank,  they  suffered  greatly.  Enfiladed  by 
this,  on  their  advance,  they  had  been  greatly  annoyed, 
and  now,  in  their  retreat,  were  no  less  severely  assail- 
ed. Numbers  found  a  grave  in  the  ditch,  before  our 
line ;  and  of  those  who  gained  the  redoubt,  not  one,  it 
is  believed,  escaped ; — they  were  shot  down  as  fast 
as  they  entered.  The  route,  along  which  they  had 
advanced  and  retired,  was  strewed  with  bodies.  Af- 
frighted at  the  carnage,  they  moved  from  the  scene 
hastily  and  in  confusion.  Our  batteries  were  still  con- 
tinuing the  slaughter,  and  cutting  them  down  at  every 
step :  safety  seemed  only  to  be  attainable  when  they 
should  have  retired  without  the  range  of  our  shot ; 
which,  to  troops  galled  as  severely  as  they  were,  was 
too  remote  a  relief.  Pressed  by  this  consideration, 
they  fled  to  the  ditch,  whither  the  right  division  had 
retreated,  and  there  remained  until  night  permitted 
them  to  retire. 

Here  was  a  period,  the  most  auspicious  that  had 
appeared  during  the  war,  to  have  gained  a  complete 
triumph  to  our  arms.  What  important  events,  in  a 
nation's  history,  are  often  the  result  of  slight  occur- 
rences !  and  how  often  are  they  prevented  by  causes 
no  less  inconsiderable !  This  truth  is  apparent  in  the 
fate*  of  this  grand  expedition,  which  had  been  fitted 
out  to  humble  our  national  pride ;  and  which  would 
have  been  captured  or  destroyed  but  for  the  ill-timed 
policy  of  the  government,  or  its  agents,  who,  as  has 
been  shown,  prevented  the  arrival  of  the  arms  destined 


LIFE  OF  GfciNERAL  JACKSON.  371 

for  this  place,  because  an  inconsiderable  sum  was 
thereby  saved  to  the  nation.  A  considerable  portion 
of  our  troops  were  inactive  and  useless  for  the  want 
of  arms  to  place  in  their  hands.  If  this  had  not  been 
the  case — had  they  been  in  a  situation  to  have  acted 
efficiently,  the  whole  British  army  must  have  submit- 
ted. But,  situated  as  Jackson  then  was,  pursuit  would 
have  been  rashness ;  though,  with  the  additional  force 
which  a  sufficiency  of  arms  would  have  placed  at  his 
command,  much  might  have  been  effected  against  an 
enemy  whose  ranks  were  thinned  by  the  unparalleled 
slaughter  of  the  day ;  and  who,  panic-struck,  and  flee- 
ing from  the  danger  before  them,  were  incompetent 
to  resistance,  and  already  believed  themselves  con- 
quered :  but  prudence,  under  existing  circumstances, 
strongly  opposed  the  idea  of  pursuit,  and  suggested  to 
the  commanding  general,  that  although  he  had  thus 
signally  achieved  even  more  than  he  had  expected,  yet 
with  the  kind  of  troops  it  had  been  effected,  inferior 
in  number  and  discipline,  to  attempt,  even  under  pre- 
sent advantages,  a  contest  on  the  plain,  was  hazarding 
too  greatly. 

Colonel  Hinds  was  very  solicitous,  and  in  person 
applied  to  the  commanding  general  for  leave  to  pursue, 
at  the  head  of  his  dragoons,  the  fleeing  and  broken 
columns  of  the  enemy :  Jackson,  however,  would  not 
permit  it.  "  My  reason  for  refusing,"  he  remarked, 
"  was,  that  it  might  become  necessary  to  sustain  him, 
and  thus  a  contest  in  the  open  field  be  brought  on: 
the  lives  of  my  men  were  of  value  to  their  country, 
and  much  too  dear  to  their  families  to  be  hazarded 
where  necessity  did  not  require  it ;  but  above  all,  from 


372  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  numerous  dead  and  wounded  stretched  out  on  the 
field  before  me,  I  felt  a  confidence  that  the  safety  of 
the  city  was  most  probably  attained,  and  hence,  that 
nothing  calculated  to  reverse  the  good  fortune  we  had 
met  should  be  attempted." 

His  reasoning  on  this  subject  was  certainly  correct, 
and  such  as  feeling  and  policy  sanctioned.  If  an  at- 
tack had  been  urged,  and  the  effort  crowned  with  suc- 
cess, enough  having  been  done,  the  splendour  of  the 
late  transaction  would  be  but  partially  increased,  and 
little  additional  lustre  reflected  on  the  American  cha- 
racter :  if,  however,  unsuccessful,  the  object  of  the  ex- 
pedition was  then  secured  to  the  enemy ;  and  all  that 
had,  for  so  many  days,  and  under  such  weighty  pri- 
vations, been  contended  for,  would,  at  the  instant,  have 
been  sacrificed  and  lost.  In  addition  to  this,  his  sol- 
diers were  most  of  them  owners  of  the  soil,  who  had 
families  anxiously  concerned  for  their  safety,  and 
whose  happiness  depended  upon  their  return:  such 
men  would  have  proven  a  loss  to  the  community,  too 
great  to  warrant  their  being  risked  for  the  mere  gra- 
tification of  pride;  in  opposition,  too,  to  those  whose 
trade  was  war;  and  w^ho,  wholly  abstracted  from 
every  thing  like  principle,  contended  in  battle  with- 
out knowing  why,  or  for  what  they  fought.  The  lives 
of  his  soldiers  were  too  valuable  to  their  families  and 
the  community,  to  be  risked  upon  a  venture  not  war- 
ranted by  necessity,  nor  required  by  the  interest  and 
honour  of  the  country.  He  preferred,  therefore,  to 
adopt  what  seemed  the  safer  course ;  to  continue  his 
position,  which  assured  protection  to  the  city,  and  the 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  373 

inhabitants,  rather  than  by  endeavouring  to  obtain 
more,  to  endanger  the  loss  of  every  thing. 

The  efforts  of  the  enemy  to  carry  our  line  of  de- 
fence on  the  left,  were  seconded  by  an  attack  on  the 
right  bank,  with  eight  hundred  chosen  troops,  under 
the  command  of  colonel  Thornton.  Owing  to  the  diffi- 
culty of  passing  the  boats  from  the  canal  to  the  river, 
and  the  strong  current  of  the  Mississippi,  the  troops 
destined  for  this  service  were  not  crossed,  nor  the  op- 
posite shore  reached  for  some  hours  after  the  expectr 
ed  moment  of  attack.  By  the  time  he  had  effected  a 
landing,  the  day  had  dawned,  and  the  flashes  of  the 
guns  announced  the  battle  begun.  Supported  by  three 
gun-boats,  he  hastened  forward,  with  his  command,  in 
the  direction  of  Morgan's  entrenchment. 

Some  time  during  the  night  of  the  7th,  two  hun- 
dred Louisiana  militia  had  been  sent  off;  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  and  oppose  him  in  his  land- 
ing: this  detachment,  under  the  command  of  major 
Arnaud,  had  advanced  a  mile  down  the  river  and  halt- 
ed ;  either  supposing  the  general  incorrect,  in  appre- 
hending an  attack,  or  that  his  men,  if  refreshed,  would 
be  more  competent  to  exertion,  he  directed  them  to 
lie  down  and  sleep :  one  man  only  was  ordered  to  be 
upon  the  watch,  lest  the  enemy  should  approach  them 
undiscovered.  Just  at  day,  he  called  upon  his  sleep- 
ing companions,  and  bade  them  rise  and  be  ready,  for 
he  had  heard  a  considerable  bustle,  a  little  below.  No 
sooner  risen,  than  confirmed  in  the  truth  of  what  had 
been  stated,  they  moved  off  in  the  direction  they  had 
come,  without  even  attempting  an  execution  of  their 


374  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

orders.  The  Kentucky  troops,  having  reached  Mor- 
gan at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  were  immediately 
sent  to  co-operate  with  the  Louisianians.  Major  Da- 
vis, who  commanded,  had  proceeded  about  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile,  and  met  those  troops  hastily  retreating 
up  the  road ;  he  ascertained  from  them  that  the  ene- 
my had  made  the  shore;  had  debarked,  and  were 
moving  rapidly  up  the  levee.  He  informed  them  for 
what  purpose  he  had  been  despatched, — to  oppose  an 
approach  as  long  as  practicable,  and  with  their  assist- 
ance, he  would  endeavour  to  execute  his  orders. 

The  two  detachments,  now  acting  together,  formed 
behind  a  saw-mill-race,  skirted  with  a  quantity  of 
plank  and  scantling,  which  afforded  a  tolerable  shel- 
ter. Davis,  with  his  two  hundred  Kentuckians,  formed 
on  the  road  next  the  river,  supported  by  the  Loui- 
siana militia  on  the  right.  The  enemy  appearing, 
their  approach  was  resisted,  and  a  warm  and  spirited 
opposition  for  some  time  maintained:  a  momentary 
check  was  given.  The  British  again  advanced,  and 
again  received  a  heavy  fire.  At  this  moment,  gene- 
ral Morgan's  aid-de-camp,  who  was  present,  perceiv- 
ing the  steady  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  fearing  for 
the  safety  of  the  troops,  ordered  a  retreat.  Confusion 
was  the  consequence — order  could  not  be  maintained, 
and  the  whole  fled,  in  haste,  to  Morgan's  line.  Arriv- 
ing in  safety,  though  much  exhausted,  they  were  im- 
mediately directed  to  form,  and  extend  themselves  to 
the  swamp ;  that  the  right  of  the  entrenchment  might 
not  be  turned. 

Colonel  Thornton  having  reached  an  orange  grove, 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  375 

about  seven  hundred  yards  distant,  halted ;  and  exa- 
mining Morgan's  line,  found  it  to  "  consist  of  a  formi- 
dable redoubt  on  the  river,"  with  its  weakest  and  most 
vulnerable  point  towards  the  swamp.  He  directly 
advanced  to  the  attack,  in  two  divisions,  against  the 
extreme  right  and  centre  of  the  line ;  and,  having  de- 
ployed, charged  the  entrenchment,  defended  by  about 
fifteen  hundred  men.  A  severe  discharge,  from  the 
field  pieces  mounted  along  our  works,  caused  the 
right  division  to  oblique,  which,  uniting  with  the  left, 
pressed  forward  to  the  point  occupied  by  the  Ken- 
tucky troops.  Perceiving  themselves  thus  exposed, 
and  having  not  yet  recovered  from  the  emotions  pro- 
duced by  their  first  retreat,  they  began  to  give  way, 
and  very  soon  entirely  abandoned  their  position.  The 
Louisiana  militia  gave  a  few  fires  and  followed  the 
example.  Through  the  exertions  of  the  officers,  a 
momentary  halt  was  effected ;  but  a  burst  of  congreve 
rockets  falling  thickly  and  setting  fire  to  the  sugar- 
cane, and  other  combustibles  around,  again  excited 
their  fears,  and  they  moved  hastily  away ;  nor  could 
they  be  rallied,  until  at  the  distance  of  two  miles,  hav- 
ing reached  a  saw-mill-race,  they  were  formed,  and 
placed  in  an  attitude  of  defence. 

Commodore  Patterson,  perceiving  the  right  flank 
about  to  be  turned,  had  ceased  his  destructive  fire 
against  the  retreating  columns  on  the  opposite  shore, 
and  turned  his  guns  to  infilade  the  enemy  next  the 
swamp;  but,  at  the  moment  when  he  expected  to 
witness  a  firm  resistance,  and  was  in  a  situation  to 
eo-operate,  he  beheld  those  without  whose  aid  all  his 
efforts  were  unavailing,  suddenly  thrown  into  con- 


376  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

fusion,  and  forsaking  their  posts.  Discovering  he  could 
no  longer  maintain  his  ground,  he  spiked  his  guns, 
destroyed  his  ammunition,  and  retired  from  a  post 
where  he  had  rendered  the  most  important  services. 

In  the  panic  that  produced  this  disorderly  retreat,  at 
a  moment  when  manly  resistance  was  expected,  are  to 
be  found  circumstances  of  justification,  which  might 
have  occasioned  similar  conduct  even  in  disciplined 
troops.  The  weakest  part  of  the  line,  and  which  was 
protected  but  by  a  slight  ditch,  was  assailed  by  the 
greatest  strength  of  the  enemy:  this  was  defended  by 
one  hundred  and  eighty  Kentuckians,  who  were  stretch- 
ed out  to  an  extent  of  three  hundred  yards,  and  unsup- 
ported by  any  pieces  of  artillery.  Thus  openly  ex- 
posed to  the  attack  of  a  greatly  superior  force,  and 
weakened  by  the  extent  of  ground  they  covered,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  or  deserving  of  reproach,  that 
they  should  have  considered  resistance  ineffectual,  and 
forsaken  a  post,  which  they  had  strong  reasons  for  be- 
lieving* they  could  not  maintain.  General  Morgan  re- 
ported to  general  Jackson  the  misfortune  and  defeat 
he  had  met,  and  attributed  it  to  the  flight  of  those 
troops,  who  had  also  drawn  along  with  them  the  rest 
of  his  forces.  It  is  true,  they  were  the  first  to  flee  ; 
and  equally  true,  that  their  example  may  have  had  the 
effect  of  producing  general  alarm;  but  in  point  of  ad- 
vantageous situation,  the  troops  materially  differed : 
the  one,  as  we  have  shown,  were  exposed,  and  enfee- 
bled by  the  manner  of  their  arrangement ;  the  other, 
the  considerably  superior  numbers,  covered  no  greater 
extent  of  ground, — were  defended  by  an  excellent 
breast-work,  and  several  pieces  of  cannon :  with  this 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  377 

difference,  the  loss  of  confidence  of  the  former  was 
not  without  sufficient  cause.  Of  these  facts,  commo- 
dore Patterson  was  not  apprized — general  Morgan 
was:  both,  however,  attributed  the  disaster  to  the 
flight  of  the  Kentucky  militia.  Upon  their  informa- 
tion, general  Jackson  founded  his  report  to  the  secre- 
tary of  war,  by  which  those  troops  were  exposed  to 
censures  they  did  not  merit.  Had  all  the  circum- 
stances, as  they  existed,  been  disclosed,  reproach 
would  have  been  prevented.  At  the  mill-race,  no 
troops  could  have  behaved  better:  they  were  well 
posted,  and  bravely  resisted  the  advance  of  the  enemy, 
nor,  until  an  order  to  that  effect  was  given,  had  enter- 
tained a  thought  of  retreating. 

The  heart-felt  joy  at  the  glorious  victory  achieved 
on  one  side  of  the  river,  was  clouded  by  the  disaster 
witnessed  on  the  other.  A  position  was  gained  which 
secured  to  the  enemy  advantages  the  most  important ; 
and  whence  our  whole  line,  on  the  left  bank,  could  be 
severely  annoyed.  But  for  the  precaution  of  commo- 
dore Patterson,  in  spiking  his  guns,  and  destroying  the 
ammunition,  it  would  have  been  in  the  power  of  colo- 
nel Thornton  to  have  completely  enfiladed  our  line  of 
defence,  and  rendered  it  untenable.  Fearful  lest  the 
guns  might  be  unspiked,  and  brought  to  operate  against 
him,  general  Jackson  hastened  to  throw  detachments 
across,  with  orders  to  regain  the  position  at  every 
hazard.  To  the  troops  on  the  right  bank,  he  forwarded 
an  address,  with  a  view  to  excite  them  to  deeds  of 
valour,  and  inspirit  them  to  exertions  that  should  wipe 
off  the  reproach  they  had  drawn  upon  themselves.* 

*See  note  D. 

3  B 


378  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

Previously,  however,  to  their  being  in  readiness  to  act* 
he  succeeded  by  stratagem  in  re-obtaining  his  lost  po- 
sition, and  thus  spared  the  effusion  of  blood  which 
would  have  been  necessary  to  its  accomplishment. 

The  loss  of  the  British,  in  the  main  attack,  on  the 
left  bank,  has  been,  at  different  times,  variously  stated* 
The  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  ascertained,  on 
the  next  day  after  the  battle,  by  colonel  Hayne,  the 
inspector-general,  places  it  at  twenty-six  hundred. 
General  Lambert's  report  to  lord  Bathurst  makes  it 
but  twro  thousand  and  seventy.  From  prisoners,  how- 
ever, and  information  and  circumstances  derived 
through  other  sources,  it  must  have  been  even  greater 
than  is  stated  by  either.  Among  them  was  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  major-general  Gibbs,  who  died  of 
his  wounds  the  next  day,  besides  many  of  their  most 
valuable  and  distinguished  officers  ;  while  the  loss  of 
the  Americans,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  but  thir- 
teen.* 

It  appears  to  have  been  made  a  question  by  the 
British  officers,  if  it  would  not  be  more  advisable  to 
carry  general  Morgan's  line,  and  refrain  from  any  at* 

*  Our  effective  force,  at  the  line,  on  the  left  bank,  was  three 
thousand  seven  hundred ;  that  of  the  enemy  at  least  nine  thousand. 
The  force  landed  in  Louisiana  has  been  variously  reported :  the  best 
information  places  it  at  about  fourteen  thousand.  A  part  of  this  acted 
with  colonel  Thornton  ;  the  climate  had  rendered  many  unfit  for  the 
duties  of  the  field ;  while  a  considerable  number  had  been  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  different  contests  since  their  arrival.  Their  strength, 
therefore,  may  be  fairly  estimated,  on  the  8th,  at  the  number  we 
have  stated  j  at  any  rate,  not  less. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  379 

tempt  on  this  side  the  river.     It  was  believed,  that  if 
successful  in  this  attack,  they  would  be  able  to  force 
general  Jackson  from  his  entrenchment,  and  pass  with 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  in  safety,  to  the  city.     A 
letter  found  in  the  possession  of  captain  Wilkinson,  a 
British  officer,  who  fell  in  the  battle,  to  a  friend  at  home, 
in  the  war  department,  speaking  on  this  subject,  shows 
that  a  difference  of  opinion  prevailed,  and  confesses 
his  own  as  being  decidedly  in  favour  of  a  vigorous  at- 
tack on  both  sides.     It  bears  date  late  on  the  night  of 
the  7th,  nor  does  it  appear,  although  he  was  a  captain 
and  brigade-major,  that  he,  at  that  time,  knew  whether 
an  assault  was   seriously  intended  against  Jackson's 
line,  or  was  designed  as  a  feint,  to  aid  the  operations  of 
colonel  Thornton.     With  the  true  spirit  of  a  British 
officer,  however,  he  indulged  in  entire  confidence  a 
hope  of  success, — entertained  no  fears  for  the  result, 
nor  doubted  but  that  the  Americans  would  at  once  re- 
tire before  their  superior  skill  and  bravery.   A  general 
order,  which  must  have  been  communicated  after  he 
had  written,  disclosing  the  manner  of  attack,  on  the 
left,  where  he  acted,  was  also  found  with  the  letter. 
In  that  the  fusileers  and  light  troops  were  instructed, 
after  reaching  our  line,  to  act  as  a  pursuing  squadron, 
and  keep  up  alarm,  while  the  army  on  the  right  should 
press  closely  in  the  rear  and  support  them.  It  breathes 
an  assurance  of  success,  and  shows  with  what  anxiety 
they  looked  to  the  approaching  morning,  as  likely  to 
bring  with  it  a  successful  termination  of  their  labours, 
and  a  triumph  over  a  foe,  whose  advantages,  more 
than  bravery,  they  supposed,  had  so  long  baffled  their 
utmost  efforts. 


380  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

That  it  was  considered,  however,  an  undertaking  oi 
greater  magnitude  and  hazard  than  they  were  dispos- 
ed openly  to  admit,  is  obvious,  from  one  circumstance. 
The  officer  who  leads  his  troops  on  a  forlorn  attempt, 
not  unfrequently  places  before  them  allurements 
stronger  than  either  authority  or  duty.  On  the  pre- 
sent occasion,  this  resort  was  not  omitted ;  and  induce- 
ments were  held  out,  than  which  nothing  more  invit- 
ing could  be  offered  to  an  infuriated  soldiery.*  Let  it 
be  remembered  of  that  gallant  but  misguided  general, 
who  has  been  so  much  deplored  by  the  British  nation, 
that,  to  the  cupidity  of  his  soldiers,  he  promised  the 
wealth  of  the  city,  as  a  recompense  for  their  gallantry 
and  desperation ;  while,  with  brutal  licentiousness, 
they  were  to  revel  in  lawless  indulgence,  and  triumph, 
uncontrolled,  over  female  innocence.  Scenes  like 
these,  our  nation,  dishonoured  and  insulted,  had  al- 
ready witnessed ;  she  had  witnessed  them  at  Hamp- 
ton and  Havre-de- Grace  :  but  it  was  reserved  for  her 
yet  to  learn  that  an  officer  of  the  character  and  stand- 
ing of  Sir  Edward  Packenham,  polished,  generous,  and 
brave,  should,  to  induce  his  soldiers  to  acts  of  daring 
valour,  permit  them,  as  a  reward,  to  insult,  injure,  and 
debase  those  whom  all  mankind,  even  savages,  reve- 
rence and  respect.  The  history  of  Europe,  since  civi- 
lized warfare  began,  is  challenged  to  afford  an  instance 
of  such  gross  depravity, — such  wanton  outrage  on  the 
morals  and  dignity  of  society.  English  writers  may 
deny  the  correctness  of  the  charge ;  it  certainly  inte- 
rests them  to  do  so :  but  its  authenticity  is  too  well 


*  "  Booty  and  Beauty,"  was  the  watch-word  of  Sir  Edward  Packen- 
ham's  army,  in  the  battle  of  the  8th. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  381 

established  to  admit  of  doubt,  while  its  criminality  is 
increased,  from  being  the  act  of  a  people  who  hold 
themselves  up  to  surrounding  nations  as  examples  of 
every  thing  that  is  correct  and  proper.  The  facts  and 
circumstances  which  were  presented  at  the  time  of 
this  transaction  left  no  doubt  on  the  minds  of  our  offi- 
cers, but  that  "  Beauty  and  Booty"  was  the  watch- 
word of  the  day.  The  information  was  obtained  from 
prisoners,  and  confirmed  by  .the  books  of  two  of  their 
orderly-sergeants  taken  in  battle,  which  contained  re- 
cord proof  of  the  fact. 

The  events  of  this  day  afford  abundant  evidence  of 
the  liberality  of  the  American  soldiers,  and  show  a 
striking  difference  in  the  troops  of  the  two  nations. 
While  one  were  allured  to  acts  of  bravery  and  duty, 
by  the  promised  pillage  and  plunder  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  commission  of  crimes  abhorrent  in  the  sight 
of  earth  and  heaven,  the  other  fought  but  for  his 
country,  and,  having  repelled  her  assailants,  instantly 
forgot  all  enmity,  viewed  his  fallen  foe  as  a  brother, 
and  hastened  to  assist  him,  even  at  the  hazard  of  his 
own  life.  The  gallantry  of  the  British  soldiers,  and 
no  people  could  have  displayed  greater,  had  brought 
many  of  them  even  to  our  ramparts,  where,  shot  down 
by  our  troops,  they  were  lying  badly  wounded.  When 
the  firing  had  ceased,  and  the  columns  had  retired, 
our  troops,  with  generous  benevolence,  advanced  over 
their  lines,  to  assist  and  bring  in  the  wounded,  which 
lay  under  and  near  the  walls ;  when,  strange  to  tell, 
the  enemy,  from  the  ditch  they  occupied,  opened  a 
fire  upon  them,  and,  though  at  a  considerable  distance, 
succeeded  in  wounding  several.  It  was  enough  for 


382  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

our  generous  soldiers,  that  they  were  doing  an  act 
which  the  benevolence  of  their  hearts  approved,  and, 
with  charitable  perseverance,  they  continued  to  ad- 
minister to  the  wants  of  these  suffering  men,  and  to 
carry  them  within  their  lines,  although,  in  their  efforts, 
they  were  continually  exposed  to  danger.  Let  the 
apologist  for  crime  say,  wherefore  were  acts  thus  un- 
pardonable committed  against  men,  who  were  admi- 
nistering to  the  wants  and  relieving  the  sufferings  of 
the  dying  countrymen  of  those  who  thus  repaid  the 
most  laudable  humanity  with  wanton  and  useless 
cruelty. 

A  communication,  shortly  after,  from  major-general 
Lambert,  on  whom,  in  consequence  of  the  fall  of  ge- 
nerals Packenham,  Gibbs,  and  Keane,  the  command 
had  devolved,  acknowledges  to  have  witnessed  the 
kindness  of  our  troops  to  his  wounded.  He  solicited 
of  general  Jackson  permission  to  send  an  unarmed 
party  to  bury  the  dead,  lying  before  his  lines,  and  to 
bring  off  such  of  the  wounded  as  were  dangerous. 
Though,  in  all  probability,  it  was  unknown  to  general 
Lambert  what  had  been  the  conduct  of  his  troops  on 
this  occasion,  and  unquestionably  not  authorized  by 
him,  yet  Jackson,  in  answer  to  his  despatch,  did  not 
omit  to  bring  it  to  his  view,  and  to  express  his  utter 
abhorrence  of  the  act.  The  request  to  bury  the  dead 
was  granted.  General  Jackson,  though,  refused  to  per- 
mit a  near  approach  to  his  line,  but  consented  that  the 
wounded  who  were  at  a  greater  distance  than  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  entrenchment  should  be  re- 
lieved, and  the  dead  buried:  those  nearer  were,  by 
his  own  men,  to  be  delivered  over,  to  be  interred  by 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  383 

their  countrymen.  This  precaution  was  taken,  that 
the  enemy  might  not  have  an  opportunity  to  inspect, 
or  know  any  thing  of  his  situation. 

/* 

General  Lambert,  desirous  of  administering  to  the 

relief  of  the  wounded,  and  that  he  might  be  relieved 
from  his  apprehensions  of  attack,   proposed,   about 
noon,  that  hostilities  should  cease  until  the  same  hour 
the  next  day.     General  Jackson,  cherishing  the  hope 
of  being  able  to  secure  an  important  advantage,  by  his 
apparent  willingness  to  accede  to  the  proposal,  drew 
up  an  armistice,  and  forwarded  it  to  general  Lambert, 
with  directions  for  it  to  be  immediately  returned,  if 
approved.     It  contained  a  stipulation  to  this  effect — 
that  hostilities,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  should  be 
discontinued  from  its  ratification,  but  on   the  right 
bank  they  should  not  cease ;  and,  in  the  interim,  that 
under  no  circumstances  were   reinforcements  to  be 
sent  across,  by  either  party.     This  \vas  a  bold  stroke 
at  stratagem ;  and,  although  it  succeeded,  even  to  the 
extent  desired,  was  yet  attended  with  considerable 
hazard.     Reinforcements   had  been  ordered  over  to 
retake  the  position  lost  by  Morgan  in  the  morning, 
and  the  general  presumed  they  had  arrived  at  their 
point  of  destination,  but,  at  this  time,  they  had  not 
passed  the  river,  nor  could  it  be  expected  to  be  re- 
taken with  the  same  troops  who  had  yielded  it  the  day 
before,  when  possessed   of  advantages   which  gave      1 
them  a  decided  superiority :  this  the  commanding  ge- 
neral-well knew;  yet,  to  spare   the  sacrifice  of  his 
men,  which,  in  regaining  it,  he  foresaw  must  be  con- 
siderable, he  was  disposed  to  venture  upon  a  course, 
which,  he  felt  assured,  could  not  fail  to  succeed.     It 


384  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSlXN. 

was  impossible  his  object  could  be  discovered;  while 
he  confidently  believed  the  British  commander  would 
infer,  from  the  prompt  and  ready  manner  in  which  his 
proposal  had  been  met,  that  such  additional  troops 
were  already  thrown  over,  as  would  be  fully  adequate 
to  the  purposes  of  attack,  and  greatly  to  endanger,  if 
not  wholly  to  cut  off,  colonel  Thornton's  retreat.  Ge- 
neral Lambert's  construction  was  such  as  had  been 
anticipated.  Although  the  armistice  contained  a  re- 
quest that  it  should  be  immediately  signed  and  return- 
ed, it  was  neglected  to  be  acted  upon  until  the  next 
day;  and  Thornton  and  his  command  were,  in  the 
interim,  under  cover  of  the  night,  re-crossed,  and  the 
ground  they  occupied  left  to  be  peaceably  possessed 
by  the  original  holders.  The  opportunity  thus  afford- 
ed of  regaining  a  position  on  which,  in  a  great  degree, 
depended  the  safety  of  those  on  the  opposite  shore, 
was  accepted  with  an  avidity  its  importance  merited, 
and  immediate  measures  taken  to  increase  its  strength, 
and  prepare  it  against  any  future  attack  that  might  be 
made.  This  delay  of  the  British  commander  was 
evidently  designed,  that,  pending  the  negotiation,  and 
before  it  was  concluded,  an  opportunity  might  be 
had,  either  of  throwing  over  reinforcements,  or  re- 
moving colonel  Thornton  and  his  troops  from  a  situa- 
tion so  extremely  perilous.  Early  next  morning,  general 
Lambert  returned  his  acceptance  of  what  had  been 
proposed,  with  an  apology  for  having  failed  to  reply 
sooner :  he  excused  the  omission,  by  pleading  a  press 
of  business,  which  had  occasioned  the  communication 
to  be  overlooked  and  neglected.  Jackson  was  at  no 
loss  to  attribute  the  delay  to  the  correct  motive :  the 
apology,  however,  was  as  perfectly  satisfactory  to  him 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  385 

as  anything  that  could  have  been  offered;  beyond  the 
object  intended  to  be  effected,  he  felt  unconcerned, 
and,  having  secured  this,  rested  perfectly  satisfied.  It 
cannot,  however,  appear  otherwise  than  extraordinary, 
that  this  neglect  should  have  been  ascribed  by  the 
British  general  to  accident,  or  a  press  of  business, 
when  it  must  have  been,  no  doubt,  of  greater  import- 
ance, at  that  moment,  than  any  thing  which  he  could 
possibly  have  had  before  him. 

The  armistice  was  this  morning,  (9th  of  January) 
concluded,  and  agreed  to  continue  until  two  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  The  dead  and  wounded  were  now  re- 
moved from  the  field,  which  for  three  hundred  yards  in 
front  of  our  line  of  defence,  they  almost  literally  co- 
vered. For  the  reason  already  suggested,  our  soldiers, 
within  the  line  of  demarkation  between  the  two  camps, 
delivered  over  to  the  British,  who  were  not  permitted 
to  cross  it,  the  dead  for  burial,  and  the  wounded  on 
parole,  for  which  it  was  stipulated,  an  equal  number 
of  American  prisoners  should  be  restored. 

It  has  seldom  happened  that  officers  were  more  de- 
ceived in  their  expectations  than  they  were  in  the  re- 
sult of  this  battle,  or  atoned  more  severely  their  error: 
their  reasoning  had  never  led  them  to  conclude  that 
militia  would  maintain  their  ground  when  warmly  as- 
sailed :  no  other  belief  was  entertained,  than  alarmed 
at  the  appearance  and  orderly  firm  approach  of  vete- 
ran troops,  they  would  at  once  forsake  the  contest, 
and  in  flight  seek  for  safety.  At  what  part  of  our  line 
they  were  stationed,  was  ascertained  by  information 
derived  through  a  deserter,  on  the  6th ;  and  influenced 

3c 


3#6  LIFE  OF  GENERAt  JACKSON. 

by  a  belief  of  their  want  of  nerve,  and  deficiency  in 
bravery,  at  this  point  the  main  assault  was  urged. 
They  were  indeed  militia ;  but  the  enemy  could  have 
assailed  no  part  of  our  entrenchment  where  they 
would  have  met  a  warmer  reception,  or  where  they 
would  have  found  greater  strength  :  it  was  indeed  the 
best  defended  part  of  the  line.  The  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  troops,  under  generals  Carroll,  Thomas 
and  Adair,  were  here,  who  had  already,  on  former  oc- 
casions, won  a  reputation  that  was  too  dear  to  be  sa- 
crificed. These  divisions,  alternately  charging  their 
pieces,  and  mounting  the  platform,  poured  forth  a  con- 
stant fire,  that  was  impossible  to  be  withstood,  repel- 
led the  advancing  columns,  and  drove  them  from  the 
field,  with  prodigious  slaughter. 

There  is  one  fact  told,  to  which  general  credit 
seems  to  be  attached,  and  which  clearly  shows  the 
opinion  had  by  the  British  of  our  militia,  and  the  little 
fear  which  was  entertained  of  any  determined  opposi- 
tion from  them.  When  repulsed  from  our  line,  the 
British  officers  were  fully  persuaded  that  the  informa- 
tion given  them  by  the  deserter,  on  the  night  of  the  6th, 
was  false,  and  that  instead  of  pointing  out  the  ground 
defended  by  the  militia,  he  had  referred  them  to  the 
place  occupied  by  our  best  troops.  Enraged  at  what 
they  believed  an  intentional  deception,  they  called 
their  informant  before  them,  to  account  for  the  mis- 
chief he  had  done.  It  was  in  vain  he  urged  his  inno- 
cence, and,  with  the  most  solemn  protestations,  declar- 
ed he  had  stated  the  fact  truly  as  it  was.  They  could 
not  be  convinced, — it  was  impossible  that  they  had 
contended  against  any  but  the  best  disciplined  troops; 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON*.  387 

*  '   \ 

and,  without  further  ceremony,  the  poor  fellow,  sus- 
pended in  view  of  the  camp,  expiated,  on  a  tree,  not 
his  crime,  for  what  he  had  stated  was  true,  but  their 
error,  in  underrating  an  enemy  who  had  already  af- 
forded abundant  evidences  of  valour.  In  all  their  fu- 
ture trials  with  our  countrymen,  may  they  be  no  less 
deceived,  and  discover  in  our  yeomanry  a  determina- 
tion to  sustain  with  firmness,  a  government  which 
knows  nothing  of  oppression ;  but  which,  on  an  en- 
larged and  liberal  scale,  aims  to  secure  the  indepen- 
dence and  happiness  of  man.  If  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  free  almost  as  the  air  they  breathe, 
shall  at  any  time  omit  to  maintain  their  privileges  and 
their  government,  then  indeed  will  it  be  idle  longer 
to  speak  of  the  rights  of  men,  or  of  their  capacity  to 
govern  themselves:  the  dream  of  liberty  must  fade 
away  and  perish  forever,  no  more?  to  be  remembered 
or  thought  of. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Bombardment  of  Fort  St.  Philip. — British  army  retire  to  their  shipping. — 
General  Jackson,  with  his  troops,  returns  to  New  Orleans. — Day  of 
thanksgiving. — Reduction  of  Fort  Bowyer. — Legislature  of  Louisiana 
recommence  their  session. — Discontents  fomented  among  the  American 
troops. — Arrest  of  Louaillier, — of  Judge  Hall. — Peace  announced. — 
General  Jackson  is  prosecuted  for  contempt  of  court — his  appearance 
in  court. — Speech  at  the  Cojfee-House. — His  own  opinion  of  martial 
law. — Troops  are  discharged,  and  the  general  returns  to  Nashville. — 
His  person  and  character. — Conclusion. 

THE  conflict  had  ended,  and  each  army  occupied  its 
former  position.  In  appearance  the  enemy  were  visi- 
bly altered :  menace  was  sunk  into  dejection,  and 
offensive  measures  yielded  for  those  which  promised 
safety.  Their  bold  attitude  so  long  preserved,  was 
now  lain  aside ;  and  they  were  perceived  to  be  erect- 
ing partial  defences,  to  guard  against  expected  attack. 
It  had  been  already  announced,  upon  good  authority, 
that  a  considerable  force  had  succeeded  in  passing  the 
Balize — made  prisoners  of  a  detachment  there,  and 
was  proceeding  up  the  Mississippi,  to  co-operate  with 
the  land  forces.  It  was  intended  to  aid  in  the  battle 
of  the  8th,  but  failing  to  arrive,  the  attack  had  been 
made  without  it.  Whether  the  enemy,  chagrined  and 
mortified  at  the  failure  of  an  effort,  into  which  the  idea 
of  disappointment  had  never  entered,  might  not  again 
renew  the  attack,  on  the  arrival  of  this  force,  was  a 
probable  event,  and  every  preparation  was  in  progress 
to  be  again  in  readiness  to  repel  it 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  389 

Of  this  formidable  advance,  no  certain  intelligence 
was  received  until  the  night  of  the  1 1th,  when  a  heavy 
cannonading,  supposed  to  be  on  Fort  St.  Philip,  was 
distinctly  heard.    Jackson  entertained  no  fears  for  the 
result.    The  advantages  in  defence,  which  his  precau- 
tion and  vigilance  had  early  extended  to  this  passage 
to  the  city,  added  to  an  entire  confidence  in  the  skill 
and  bravery  of  the  officer  to  whom  it  had  been  con- 
fided, led  him  to  .believe  there  was  nothing  to  be  ap- 
prehended;   and  that  every   thing  which    duty  and 
bravery  could  effect,  would  be  done.     The  enemy's 
squadron,  consisting  of  two  bomb  vessels,  a  brig,  sloop, 
and  schooner,  were  discovered  by  the  videttes,  from 
Fort  Bourbon,  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  directing 
their  course  up  the   river;   signals  were  made, — in- 
formation communicated,  and  every  thing  was  in  readi- 
ness to  receive  them.     About  ten  o'clock,  having  ap- 
proached within  striking  distance,  an  assault  was  com- 
menced on  the  fort,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  bombs 
and  balls  were  discharged  against  it.     A  severe  and 
well-directed  fire  from  our  water  battery  soon  com- 
pelled them  to  abandon  the  attack,  and  retire  about 
two  miles.     At  this  distance,  the  enemy  was  possess- 
ed of  decided  advantages, — having  it  in  their  power 
to  reach  the  fort,  with  the  shot  from  their  large  mor- 
tis, while  they  were  entirely  without  th&  range  of- 
ouis.     The  assault  continued,  without  much  intermis- 
sion, from  the  9th  until  the  night  of  the  17th.     They 
had  hitherto  lain  beyond  the  effective  range  of  our 
shot,  ani  although  from  their  large  mortars  the  fort 
had  been^onstantly  reached,  and  pierced  in  innume- 
rable piace$,  still,  such  an  effect  had  not  been  pro- 
duced, as  to  justify  a  belief,  that  they  could  now.  more 


390  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSO. 

than  at  the  moment  of  their  arrival,  venture  to  pass. 
A  heavy  mortar  having  been  prepared,  and  turned 
against  them  on  the  17th,  the  security  they  had  hith- 
erto enjoyed  was  taken  away  :  their  vessels  could  now 
be  reached,  and  considerable  effect  was  discovered  to 
be  produced.  This  circumstance,  and  an  ineffectual 
bombardment,  which  though  continued  for  eight  days, 
had  secured  no  decided  advantage,  induced  them  to 
suspend  all  further  efforts  ;  and,  on  the  morning  of  the 
18th,  they  retired^ 

Major  Overton,  who  commanded  at  this  place,  his 
officers,  and   soldiers,    distinguished    themselves  by 
their  activity  and  vigilance.     To  arrest  the  enemy's 
passage  up  the  river,  and  prevent  them  from  uniting 
with  the  forces  below  the  city,  was  of  great  import- 
ance ;  and  to  succeed  in  this  was  as  much  as  could  be 
expected.  So  long,  therefore,  as  they  kept  at  a  distance, 
nor  attempted  a  final  accomplishment  of  their  object, 
no  other  concern  was  felt   than  to  watch  their  ma- 
noeuvres, and  adopt  such  a  course  as  should   afford 
safety  to  the  troops  in  the  garrison ;  for  this  purpose, 
pieces  of  timber  and  scantling  were  used,  which  formed 
a  cover,  and  gave  protection  from  their  bombs.     The 
store  of  ammunition  was  also  divided,  and  buried  in 
different  places  in  the  earth,  that  in  the  event  of  acci- 
dent the  whole  might  not  be  lost.     During  the  period 
of  the  bombardment,  which  lasted  with  little  intermis- 
sion for  nine  days,  sleep  was  almost  a  strange-'  in  the 
fort     The  night  was  the  time  when  most  of  *H  it  was 
feared  lest  the  enemy,  aided  by  the  darkness,  and  as- 
sisted by  some  fortunate  breeze,  would  ha-e  it  in  their 
power  to  ascend  the  river,  in  despite  of  ^very  opposi- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  391 

tion :  the  constant  activity  which  was  necessary, 
prevented  all  opportunities  for  repose.  On  a  tempes- 
tuous night,  the  wind  setting  fair  to  aid  them,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  pass  :  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  fort, 
and  favour  the  chances  for  ascent,  their  boats  were 
sent  forward  to  commence  an  attack.  In  this,  however, 
they  were  disappointed,  and  compelled  to  abandon  the 
undertaking.  At  length,  after  many  fruitless  efforts, 
and  an  immense  waste  of  labour  and  ammunition,  they 
retired  without  effecting  their  purpose,  or  producing, 
to  us,  a  greater  injury  than  the  loss  of  nine  of  the 
garrison,  who  were  killed  and  wounded. 

The  failure  of  this  squadron  to  ascend  the  river, 
perhaps,  determined  general  Lambert  in  the  course 
which  he  immediately  adopted.  His  situation  before 
our  line  was  truly  an  unpleasant  one.  Our  batteries,, 
after  the  8th,  were  continually  throwing  balls  and  bombs 
into  his  camp;  and  wherever  a  party  of  troops  appeared 
in  the  field,  they  were  greatly  annoyed.  Thus  harass- 
ed,— perceiving  that  all  assistance  through  this  chan- 
nel had  failed,  and  constantly  in  apprehension  lest  an 
attack  should  be  made  upon  him,  he  resolved  on  avail- 
ing himself  of  the  first  favourable  opportunity  to  depart, 
arid  forsake  a  contest  where  every  effort  had  met  dis- 
appointment, and  where  an  immense  number  of  his 
troops  had  found  their  graves.  The  more  certainly  to 
effect  a  retreat  in  safety,  detachments  had  been  sent 
out  to  remove  every  obstruction  that  could  retard  their 
progress  through  the  swamp;  while,  to  give  greater 
facility  to  his  departure,  strong  redoubts  were  erected 
on  the  way,  and  bridges  thrown  across  every  creek  and 
bayou  that  obstructed  the  passage.  Every  thing  being 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

thus  prepared,  on  the  night  of  the  18th,  general  Lam- 
bert silently  decamped,  and,  proceeding  towards  the 
lake,  embarked  for  his  shipping,  leaving,  and  recom- 
mending to  the  clemency  and  hospitality  of  the  Ameri- 
can general,  eighty  of  his  soldiers,  who  were  too  severe- 
ly wounded  to  be  removed.  With  such  silence  and 
caution  was  this  decampment  managed,  that  riot  the 
slightest  intelligence  was  communicated,  even  to  our 
sentinels  occupying  the  out  posts.  Early  on  the  next 
morning,  the  enemy's  camp  was  perceived  to  be  eva- 
cuated; but  what  had  become  of  them,  and  whither  they 
had  gone,  could  only  be  conjectured  :  no  information 
on  the  subject  was  possessed.  To  ascertain  the  cause 
of  this  new  and  sudden  appearance  of  things,  detach- 
ments were  in  readiness  to  proceed  and  reconnoitre 
their  camp,  when  surgeon  Wadsdale,  of  the  staff,  ar- 
rived at  our  line,  with  a  letter  to  general  Jackson,  from 
the  British  commander,  announcing  his  determination 
to  suspend,  "  for  the  present,  all  further  operations 
against  New  Orleans,"  and  requesting  his  humanity 
towards  the  wounded  he  had  left,  and  whom  necessity 
had  compelled  him  to  abandon. 

Detachments  were  now  sent  out  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  this  unexpected  state  of  things ;  with  orders 
to  harass  their  rear,  if  a  retreat  were  really  intended. 
But  the  precaution  taken  by  the  enemy,  arid  the 
ground  over  which  they  were  retreating,  prevented 
pursuit  in  sufficient  numbers  to  secure  any  valuable 
result  The  system  of  operations  which  Jackson  had 
prescribed  for  himself,  he  believed  was  such  as  policy 
sanctioned,  nor  to  be  abandoned  but  for  advantages 
evidently  certain,  and  which  admitted  not  of  question. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  393 

To  pursue  on  a  route  protected  and  defended  by 
canals,  redoubts,  and  entrenchments,  would,  at  least, 
have  been  adventuring  upon  an  uncertain  issue,  where 
success  was  extremely  problematical,  and  where  in- 
jury and  loss  might  have  resulted. 

Thus,  at  last,  in  total  disappointment,  terminated  an 
invasion  from  which  much  had  been  expected.  Twen- 
ty-six days  ago,  flushed  with  the  hope  of  certain 
victory,  had  this  army  erected  its  standard  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi.  At  that  moment,  they  would  have 
treated  with  contempt  an  assertion,  that  in  ten  days 
they  would  not  enter  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  How 
changed  the  portrait,  from  the  expected  reality  !  But 
a  few  days  since,  and  they  were  confident  of  a  triumph, 
and  a  successful  termination  of  their  labours  :  now, 
vanquished,  beaten,  and  cut  to  pieces,  at  midnight,  un- 
der the  cover  of  its  darkness,  they  are  found  silently 
abandoning  their  camp, — breaking  to  pieces  their  ar- 
tillery,— fleeing  from  an  enemy,  who,  but  a  little  while 
before,  they  had  held  in  utter  contempt,  and  submit- 
ting their  wounded  to  his  clemency.  A  demonstration 
is  given,  which  a  Briton,  short  of  absolute  proof,  would 
have  been  among  the  last  to  have  admitted,  that  four- 
teen thousand  troops,  who,  oftentimes,  against  the 
sternest  opposition,  had  signalized  themselves  in  bat- 
tle, arid  marched  to  victory,  could,  under  any  circum- 
stances, be  beaten,  and  one-third  of  them  destroyed,  by 
an  inferior  number  of  men,  who  scarcely  knew  how  to 
form  in  column,  or  deploy  into  line :  yet  they  knew  that 
which  was  of  infinitely  more  service  in  nerving  with 
strength  the  soldier's  arm,  and  dispelling  every  thing 
like  fear, — that  they  were  contending  for  their  rights, 

3D 


394  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON* 

against  a  power  which  was  causelessly  seeking  their 
destruction, — for  privilege  against  usurpation, — for 
liberty,  in  opposition  to  oppression  : — that  they  were 
fighting  for  a  country  they  loved,  and  for  enjoyments, 
which,  once  lost,  could  never  be  regained.  Prompted 
by  these  considerations,  they  had  entered  the  field, 
and  under  their  influence  had  acted.  For  their  toils 
and  privations,  they  were  amply  remunerated :  they 
had  met  their  own  and  country's  expectations — had 
saved  a  city  from  destruction — its  inhabitants  from 
cruelty  and  dishonour,  and  were  carrying  with  them 
that  consolation  which  the  recollection  of  a  faithful 
discharge  of  duty  never  fails  to  inspire. 

There  was  no  certainty  that  the  contest  was  finally 
ended.  The  enemy  had  indeed  retired,  and,  "  for  the 
present,  relinquished  all  further  operations  against 
New  Orleans :"  but  of  wrhat  continuance  their  forbear- 
ance would  be,  whether  they  might  not  avail  them- 
selves of  the  first  flattering  opportunity,  to  renew  the 
struggle,  and  wipe  off  the  stain  of  a  defeat  so  wholly 
unexpected,  could  not  be  doubted.  The  hopes  and 
expectations  indulged,  in  England,  of  the  success  of 
this  expedition,  had  inspirited  the  whole  army ;  and 
failure  had  never  been  anticipated.  They  had  now 
retired ;  yet,  from  their  convenient  situation,  and  hav- 
ing command  of  the  surrounding  waters,  it  was  in 
their  power,  at  a  short  notice,  to  re-appear,  at  the 
same,  or  some  more  favourable  point — cause  a  repeti- 
tion of l  the  hardships  already  encountered,  and,  per- 
haps, ^succeed  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  views. 
These  considerations  led  general  Jackson  to  conclude, 
that,  although,  for  the  present,  there  was  an  abandon- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  395 

ment  of  the  enterprise,  still  it  behoved  him  not  to 
relax  in  his  system  of  defence ;  but  be  in  constant 
readiness  to  maintain  the  advantages  he  had  gained ; 
and  not  to  risk  a  loss  of  the  country  by  a  careless  in- 
difference, growing  out  of  the  belief  that  danger  had 
subsided.  To  prevent  such  a  result,  vigilance  and 
caution  were  essentially  necessary. 

The  enemy  being  again  at  their  shipping,  with  an 
entire  control  of  the  lakes  and  gulf,  it  could  not  be 
known  at  what  point  they  might  venture  on  a  second 
attack.  General  Jackson  determined  now  to  withdraw 
his  troops  from  the  position  they  had  so  long  occupied, 
and  place  them  about  the  city,  whence,  to  repel  any 
further  attempt  that  might  be  made,  they  could  be 
advanced  wherever  it  should  become  necessary.  The 
seventh  regiment  of  infantry  remained  to  protect  the 
point  he  was  leaving;  while,  further  in  advance,  on 
Villery's  canal,  where  a  landing  had  been  first  effect- 
ed, were  posted  a  detachment  of  Kentucky  and  Loui- 
siana militia.  To  secure  this  point  more  effectually, 
orders  were  given,  on  the  22d,  to  throw  up  a  strong- 
fortification,  at  the  junction  of  Manzant  and  Bayou 
Bienvenu;  which  order  was  again  attempted  to  be 
executed  on  the  25th.  On  both  occasions,  failure  was 
the  result,  from  the  circumstance  of  the  enemy  having, 
on  their  retreat,  left  a  strong  guard  at  this  place,  which, 
from  its  situation,  defied  approach  by  a  force  compe- 
tent to  its  reduction.  Their  occupying  this  position 
was  looked  to  as  a  circumstance  which  afforded  strong 
evidence  that  further  hostilities  were  not  wholly  aban- 
doned. To  counteract,  however,  any  advantages  which 
plight  thence  be  derived,  different  points,  along  the 


396  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON*. 

swamp,  and  in  the  direction  of  Terre  au  Boeuf,  were 
occupied,  and  strong  works  erected,  to  prevent  their 
again  reaching  in  this  direction  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

• 

These  arrangements  being  made,  calculated,  if  not 
to  prevent,  at  least  to  give  intelligence  of  an  approach 
in  time  to  be  resisted,  on  the  20th  of  January,  general 
Jackson,  with  his  remaining  forces,  commenced  his 
march  to  New  Orleans.     The  general  glow  excited, 
at  beholding  his  entrance  into  the  city,  at  the  head  of 
a  long  suffering  and  victorious  army,  was  manifested 
by  all  those  feelings  which  patriotism  and  sympathy 
inspire.     The  windows  and  streets  were  Crowded,  to 
view  the  man,  who,  by  vigilance,  decision,  and  en- 
ergy, had  preserved  the  country  from  the  fate  to  which 
it  had  been  devoted.     It  was  a  scene  well  calculated 
to  excite  the  tenderest  emotions.     But  a  few  weeks 
since,  and  every  bosom  throbbed  for  deliverance  and 
safety.   Fathers,  sons,  and  husbands,  urged  by  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  times,  were  toiling  in  defence  of  their 
wives  and  children.     A  ferocious  soldiery,  numerous, 
and  skilled  in  the  art  of  war,  and  to  whom  every  in» 
dulgence  had  been  promised,  were  straining  exertion 
to  effect  their  object.  Every  cannon  that  echoed  from 
the  line  was,  perhaps,  the  signal  of  approach,  and  the 
commencement  of  indescribable  horrors.    But  those 
feelings  had  subsided :  the  painful  anticipations  which 
had  lasted  so  long,  were  gone.     The  tender  female, 
relieved  from  the  anguish  of  danger  and  suspense,  no 
longer  trembled  for  her  safety  and  her  honour :  a  new 
order  of  things  had  arisen :  joy  sparkled  in  every  coun- 
tenance ;  while  scarcely  a  widow  or  an  orphan  was 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  397 

seen,  to  cloud  the  general  transport  The  command- 
ing general,  under  whose  banners  every  thing  had 
been  achieved,  deliberate,  cool,  and  sparing  of  the 
lives  of  the  brave  defenders  of  their  country,  had  dis- 
pelled the  storm  which  had  so  long  threatened  to  in- 
volve the  ruin  of  thousands ;  and  was  now  restoring, 
safe  and  unhurt,  those  who  had  with  him  maintained 
the  contest.  His  approach  was  hailed  with  acclama- 
tions :  it  was  not  the  kind  of  applause,  which,  result- 
ing from  fear,  is  oftentimes  extended  by  the  subject, 
to  some  conqueror  or  tyrant  returning  in  triumph,  but 
that  which  was  extended  by  citizens  to  a  citizen, 
springing  from  affection,  and  founded  in  the  honest 
sincerity  of  the  heart.  All  greeted  his  return,  and 
hailed  him  as  their  deliverer. 

But,  amidst  the  warm  expression  of  their  thanks,  and 
the  honours  and  congratulations  heaped  upon  him,  he 
was  not  unmindful,  that  to  an  energy  superior  to  his 
own,  and  a  wisdom  which  controls  the  destiny  of  na- 
tions, he  was  indebted  for  the  glorious  triumph  of  our 
arms.  Respited  from  the  arduous  duties  of  the  field, 
his  first  concern  was  to  draw  the  minds  of  all  in  thank- 
fulness and  adoration  to  that  sovereign  mercy,  without 
whose  aid,  and  inspiring  counsel,  vain  would  be  all 
earthly  efforts.  The  23d  having  been  appointed  a  day 
of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  the  happy  deliverance 
effected  by  our  arms,  Jackson  repaired  to  the  cathe- 
dral. The  church  and  altar  were  splendidly  decorated, 
and  more  than  could  obtain  admission  had  crowded  to 
witness  the  ceremony.  A  grateful  recollection  of  his 
exertions  to  save  the  country,  was  cherished  by  all ; 
nor  did  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  even  here,  re- 


398  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

strain  a  manifestation  of  their  regard,  or  induce  them 
to  withhold  the  honour  he  had  so  nobly  earned.  Chil- 
dren, robed  in  white,  and  representing  the  different 
states,  were  employed  in  strewing  the  way  with  flow- 
ers ;  while,  as  he  passed,  a  flattering  ode  produced  for 
the  occasion  saluted  his  ears. — 

Hail  to  the  chief!  who  hied  at  war's  alarms, 
To  save  our  threaten'd  land  from  hostile  arms ; 
Preserv'd,  protected  by  his  gallant  care, 
Be  his  the  grateful  tribute  of  each  fair  : 
With  joyful  triumph  swell  the  choral  lay — 
Strew,  strew  with  flow'rs  the  hero's  welcome  way. 
Jackson,  all  hail !  our  country's  pride  and  boast, — 
Whose  mind's  a  council,  and  his  arm  a  host; 
Welcome,  blest  chief !  accept  our  grateful  lays, 
Unbidden  homage,  and  spontaneous  praise  ; 
Remembrance,  long,  shall  keep  alive  thy  fame, 
And  future  infants  learn  to  lisp  thy  name. 

When  the  general  reached  the  church,  Dubourg,  the 
reverend  administrator  of  the  diocese,  met  him  at  the 
door.  Addressing  him  in  a  strain  of  pious  eloquence, 
he  intreated  him  to  remember,  that  his  splendid 
achievements,  which  were  echoed  from  every  tongue, 
were  to  be  ascribed  to  Him  to  whom  all  praise  was  due. 
"  Let  the  votary  of  blind  chance,"  continued  he,  "  de- 
ride our  credulous  simplicity.  Let  the  cold-hearted 
atheist  look  for  an  explanation  of  important  events,  to 
the  mere  concatenation  of  human  causes ;  to  us,  the 
whole  world  is  loud  in  proclaiming  a  Supreme  Ruler, 
who,  as  he  holds  the  destiny  of  man  in  his  hands,  holds 
also  the  thread  of  all  contingent  occurrences;  from 
his  lofty  throne,  he  moves  every  scene  below, — infuses 
his  wisdom  into  the  rulers  of  nations,  and  executes  his 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  399 

uncontrollable  judgments  on  the  sons  of  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  his  own  unerring  justice."  He 
concluded  his  impressive  address,  by  presenting  the 
general  with  a  wreath  of  laurel,  woven  for  the  occasion, 
and  which  he  desired  him  to  accept  as  "  a  prize  of 
victory." 

General  Jackson  accepted  the  pledge,  presented  as 
a  mark  of  distinguished  favour  by  the  reverend  pre- 
late, and  returned  him  a  reply  no  less  impressive  than 
the  address  he  had  received.  He  was  now  conducted 
in,  and  seated  near  the  altar,  when  the  organ,  and  church 
ceremonies  were  commenced,  and  inspired  every  mind 
with  a  solemn  reverence  for  the  occasion.*  These 
being  ended,  he  retired  to  his  quarters,  to  renew  a 
system  of  defence,  which  should  ensure  entire  safety, 
and  ward  off  any  future  danger  that  might  arise.  The 
right  bank  of  the  Mississippi  was  now  strengthened  by 
additional  reinforcements,  and  a  strong  position  taken 
on  La  Fourche,  to  prevent  any  passage  in  that  direo- 
tion.  Suitable  arrangements  for  security  having  been 
already  made  below  the  city,  generals  Coffee  and  Car- 
roll were  instructed  to  resume  their  former  encamp- 
ment, four  miles  above,  where  they  had  been  stationed 
previously  to  the  landing  of  the  enemy.  The  rest  of 
the  troops  were  arranged  at  different  points,  where 
necessity  seemed  most  to  require  it,  and  where  they 
might  be  convenient,  and  concentrated  for  action,  on 
the  first  appearance  of  danger. 

Previously  to  general  Lambert's  departure,  articles 

*  See  note  E. 


400s  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

of  agreement  had  been  entered  into  by  the  command- 
ers of  the  two  armies,  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners ; 
in  pursuance  of  which,  sixty-three  Americans,  taken 
on  the  night  of  the  23d,  from  the  left  wing  of  general 
Coffee's  brigade,  had  been  delivered  up :  the  remain- 
der, principally  those  wrho  had  been  taken  at  the  cap- 
ture of  our  gun  boats,  were  shortly  afterwards  surren- 
dered by  admiral  Cochrane,  and  an  equal  number  of 
British  prisoners,  in  our  possession,  sent  off  to  be  de- 
livered at  the  Balize. 

The  enemy  had  now  withdrawn  from  the  shore  the 
troops  which  had  been  landed,  and  occupied  their 
former  position  at  Cat  and  Ship  Island.  Mortified  at 
their  unexpected  disaster,  they  were  projecting  a 
plan,  by  which  it  was  expected  a  partial  advantage 
might,  perhaps,  be  secured,  and  the  stigma  of  defeat 
be  somewhat  obliterated. 

Fort  Bowyer  had  been  once  assailed,  with  a  con- 
siderable force,  by  land  and  water,  and  failure  had  re- 
sulted. This  post,  the  key  to  Mobile,  and  considered 
of  infinite  consequence,  had  been  retained  under  the 
command  of  him,  who,  heretofore,  had  defended  it  so 
valiantly.  The  British  commander,  turning  from  those 
scenes  of  disappointment  and  wretchedness  so  lately 
witnessed,  and  anxious  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  be- 
fore, with  his  shattered  and  diminished  forces,  he 
should  retire,  perceived  no  place  against  which  he 
might  proceed  with  better  founded  hopes  of  success. 
Its  importance,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  has  been 
already  shown :  but,  dispirited  and  reduced  as  the  ene- 
my now  were,  even  should  they  possess  it,  they  would 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  401 

be  without  the  power  to  derive  those  important  ad- 
vantages which  were  heretofore  so  greatly  appre- 
hended and  dreaded. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  the  British  shipping  ap- 
peared off  Dauphin  Island,  fronting  the  point  on  which 
stood  the  fort,  garrisoned  with  three  hundred  and  six- 
ty men.  Having  made  the  necessary  arrangements, 
on  the  8th  an  attack  was  commenced,  both  from  the 
land  and  water.  The  fleet  was  formed  in  two  divi- 
sions; and  approached  within  one  and  two  miles, 
bearing  south  and  south-west  from  it.  But  the  princi- 
pal attack,  and  that  which  compelled  a  surrender,  was 
from  the  shore,  where  colonel  Nicholls  and  Woodbine 
had  carried  on  their  operations  in  September.  Five 
thousand  troops,  aided  by  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance, 
and  secured  from  the  fire  of  our  guns  by  large  em- 
bankments, urged  the  assault.  Under  cover  of  the  two 
succeeding  nights,  redoubts  had  been  thrown  up,  and 
trenches  cut  through  the  sand,  which  enabled  them  to 
approach  gradually,  and  without  being  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  our  guns.  Twice,  on  the  8th,  were  detach- 
ments sent  out,  to  effect  by  storm  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  purpose ;  but  the  fire  from  the  fort  com- 
pelled an  abandonment  of  their  course,  and  drove  them 
to  the  necessity  of  approaching  by  trenches,  protected 
by  strong  redoubts.  To  demolish  these  from  the  fort 
was  impracticable,  from  their  strength ;  and  to  attempt 
to  prevent  their  erection,  by  any  sortie,  with  so  weak 
a  force,  would  have  been  rash  and  imprudent.  Thus 
situated,  and  every  thing  being  ready  to  attack  and  car- 
ry the  fort,  if  opposition  were  still  intended,  about  ten 
o'clock  on  the  llth  the  enemy  hoisted  a  flag :  major 

3E  " 


402  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOtf. 

Lawrence  raised  another.  Hostilities  ceased,  and  ge- 
neral Lambert  required  a  surrender.  The  officers 
being  convoked,  with  one  consent  agreed  that  further 
resistance  would  be  ineffectual,  and  could  only  lead  to 
the  unnecessary  loss  of  many  valuable  lives.  A  ca- 
pitulation was  agreed  on,  and  the  fort  forthwith  yielded 
to  the  enemy. 

General  Winchester,  who  commanded  at  Mobile, 
having  received  intelligence  of  what  was  passing  at 
the  point,  ordered  a  detachment  of  a  thousand  men, 
under  major  Blue,  to  proceed  down  the  bay,  and  aid 
in  its  defence.  This  auxiliary  force  was  too  late  :  hav- 
ing surprised  and  captured  one  of  the  enemy's  out 
piquets,  consisting  of  seventeen  men,  and  ascertained 
that  a  surrender  had  already  taken  place,  they  return- 
ed. Had  this  detachment  reached  its  destination,  our 
loss  would  have  been  more  severe.  The  enemy's 
forces  were  too  numerous,  and  their  means  of  attack 
too  effectual,  for  any  different  result  to  have  taken 
place,  even  had  the  detachment  arrived  in  time. 

It  had  early  been  the  wish  of  general  Jackson,  for 
the  large  frigate,  lying  at  Tchifonte,  to  be  completed, 
and  placed  in  defence  of  Fort  Bowyer.  We  have  be- 
fore remarked  the  confidence  entertained  by  him,  that, 
with  the  aid  of  this  vessel,  no  force  brought  against 
the  place  would  be  competent  to  its  reduction.  Near 
it  is  the  only  channel  a  vessel  of  any  size  can  pass. 
This  frigate,  occupying  the  passage,  would  have  pre- 
sented as  strong  a  battery  as  could  be  brought  against 
her,  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  fort,  defied  any  assault  from 
the  water;  and,  while  her  position  would  have  enabled 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  403 

her  to  have  thrown  her  bombs  and  shot  across  the  nar- 
row neck  of  land,  in  the  rear  of  the  point,  and  arrested 
the  advance  of  any  number  of  troops,  which,  in  this 
direction,  might  have  attempted  an  approach.  Yet  every 
necessary  precaution,  to  defend  this  important  pass, 
had  been  altogether  overlooked  or  disregarded,  and 
more  money  disbursed  by  the  government  in  erecting 
shelters,  to  protect  the  frigate  from  the  weather,  than 
would  have  been  sufficient  for  her  completion. 

The  legislature  of  Louisiana  had  re-commenced  their 
session.  The  necessity  which  had  induced  a  suspen- 
sion of  their  deliberations,  having  been  removed,  by 
the  departure  of  the  enemy,  they  were  no  longer 
restricted  in  the  exercise  of  their  constitutional  pri- 
vileges. Some  of  the  members,  during  the  past  strug* 
gle,  had  forsaken  their  official  duties,  and  repaired  to 
the  field,  where  more  important  services  were  to  be 
rendered,  and  where  they  had  manifested  a  zeal  and 
devotion  to  the  country  worthy  of  imitation.  A  much 
greater  part,  however,  had  pursued  a  very  opposite 
course,  and  stood  aloof  from  the  impending  danger. 
The  disposition  they  had  shown,  on  the  28th  of  De- 
cember, to  propose  a  capitulation  with  the  enemy,  has 
been  adverted  to :  how  far  it  was  calculated  to  es- 
trange the  public  sentiment  from  that  conviction, 
which  the  commanding  general,  throughout,  had  en- 
deavoured to  rivet  and  impress,  "that  the  country  could 
and  would  be  successfully  defended,"  can  be  easily 
imagined.  But  with  them  he  had  sinned  beyond  for- 
giveness. The  course  he  had  adopted — his  arresting 
their  proceedings,  and  suspending  their  deliberations, 
by  placing  an  armed  force  at  the  door  of  the  capitol. 


404  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

were  viewed  as  intolerable  infringements  upon  legis- 
lative prerogative — denounced  as  an  abuse  of  power, 
and  hence  the  first  opportunity  was  seized  on  to  ex- 
hibit their  resentment  against  the  man  who  had  stood 
forth  in  opposition  to,  and  defeated  their  designs. 
Whether  it  were  better  to  indulge  them  in  a  heedless 
course,  which  led  to  no  other  object  than  individual 
advancement,  or,  by  interposing  a  remedy,  arrest  the 
foul  purpose  intended,  preserve  the  nation  from  dis- 
honour, and  avert  the  dangerous  consequences  involv- 
ed, was  not  a  matter  requiring  much  deliberation ;  nor 
was  it  a  circumstance  to  justify  the  legislature  in 
treating  as  they  did,  with  marked  disrespect,  him  who 
Avas  the  efficient  cause  of  all  that  had  been  achieved. 

No  sooner  had  the  members  resumed  the  exercise 
of  their  legislative  duties,  than  their  first  concern  was 
to  pass  in  review,  the  incidents  of  the  last  month.  To 
those  who  had  acted  vigilantly  in  the  defence  of  the 
state,  and  who,  by  their  toils  and  exertions,  had  con- 
tributed to  its  safety,  they  officially  tendered  their 
thanks.  In  pursuance  of  their  resolutions,  the  govern- 
or addressed  the  principal  officers :  but  of  Jackson, 
nothing  was  said.  We  are  not  disposed  to  censure  or 
even  call  in  question  the  conduct  of  this  body,  though 
the  circumstances  present  no  very  favourable  appear- 
ance. When  danger  threatened,  they  were  disposed 
to  make  terms  with  the  enemy,  and  obtain  safety  by 
a  surrender  of  the  city  :  from  this  they  were  prevent- 
ed by  a  decision  of  character  that  compelled  legisla- 
tive to  yield  to  military  authority.  Greatly  incensed 
at  being  thus  unexpectedly  restrained  in  the  execution 
of  their  designs,  no  sooner  did  they  resume  the  du- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  405 

ties  of  their  station,  than  they  became  lavish  in  the 
praise  of  those  who  adopted  and  pursued  a  course 
directly  contrary  to  their  own ;  while  in  that  commen- 
dation and  approval,  they  intentionally  neglected  the 
very  man  to  whom  their  section  of  country  was  in- 
debted for  its  salvation.  But  to  Jackson,  this  was  an 
immaterial  circumstance  :  he  had  a  mind  incapable  of 
being  inflated  by  applause,  or  depressed  by  unmerited 
censure.  He  knew,  full  well,  that  his  countrymen 
would  duly  appreciate  his  conduct,  trace  his  actions 
and  errors  to  proper  motives,  and  extend  "  honour  to 
whom  honour  was  due."  Humamtm  est  errare,  was  a 
maxim  from  which  he  claimed  no  exemption ;  but  a 
conviction  rested  on  his  mind,  that  necessity  had 
prompted  him  to  the  course  he  had  taken,  that  if  he 
had  erred,  it  was  for  the  general  good :  if  legislative 
prerogative  had  been  invaded,  it  was  to  save  the  actors 
from  themselves  :  if  constitutional  forms  and  provi- 
sions had  been  violated,  the  country  had  been  thereby 
protected  from  outrage,  dishonour,  and  ruin.  These 
afforded  consolatory  reflections,  which  the  neglect  or 
censures  of  none  could  disturb,  or  take  away.  Mind- 
ful of  what  he  owed  to  his  country,  and  what  was  ex- 
pected at  his  hands,  he  continued  a  course  calculated 
to  preserve  the  advantages  he  had  secured,  regardless 
of  the  cabal,  the  murmuring  and  intrigue  of  party. 

Appearances  in  the  American  camp  were  about  this 
time  assuming  an  unfavourable  aspect :  present  danger 
and  alarm  being  removed,  confusion  was  arising,  and 
disaffection  spreading  through  the  ranks.  Pretexts 
were  sought  after  to  escape  the  drudgery  of  the  field. 
Many  naturalized  citizens,  who  had  been  brought  into 


406  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

the  service,  and  made  to  aid  in  the  general  defence, 
were  seeking  exemption  from  further  control,  and 
claiming  to  be  subjects  of  the  king  of  France.  Some 
were  indeed  foreigners :  but  most  of  them  had,  by 
naturalization,  become  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Notwithstanding  this,  as  French  subjects,  they  were 
seeking,  and  actually  procuring,  exonerations  through 
Monsieur  Toussard,  the  consul  resident  at  New  Or- 
leans. No  applicant  ever  went  away  unsupplied,  and 
hundreds,  for  the  price  of  a  consular  certificate,  ob- 
tained protections  which  were  to  relieve  them  from 
the  drudgery  of  the  field,  and  the  ties  due  to  their 
adopted  country.  A  flag  was  displayed  from  the  con- 
sul's residence,  and  rumour  circulated,  that  under  it 
every  Frenchman  would  find  protection.  Five  dollars, 
the  price  of  the  certificate,  was  all  that  was  required  of 
any  applicant  to  assure,  through  the  consul,  the  protec- 
tion of  the  French  government.  Harassed  by  such  evils, 
that  were  every  day  increasing,  and  having  strong  and 
satisfactory  reasons  to  believe  that  the  enemy,  then 
within  a  few  hours  sail  of  the  shore,  were  constantly 
advised  of  his  situation,  Jackson  determined  to  adopt 
such  measures  as  would  at  once  put  down  the  mach- 
inations of  the  guilty  and  designing.  Toussard,  thus 
manifesting,  what  could  be  considered  in  no  other 
light,  a  warmth  of  attachment  to  the  English,  and  a 
desire  to  aid  them,  for  the  services  perhaps  which 
they  had  given  in  the  restoration  of  his  monarch,  was 
ordered  to  leave  the  city — retire  to  the  interior  of  the 
country,  nor  venture  to  return,  until  peace  was  re- 
stored. His  countrymen,  also,  who  were  disposed  to 
claim  his  protection,  and  abandon  the  service,  were 
ordered  to  follow  him,  and,  at  their  peril,  not  to  ap- 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  407 

pear  again  about  New  Orleans.  The  general  did  this 
with  a  view  to  his  own  security,  and  from  a  conviction 
that  those  who  could  thus  shamefully  seek  to  avoid  a 
contest,  threatened  against  a  country  which  they  had 
adopted,  and  whose  privileges  and  benefits  they  had 
enjoyed,  would  not  scruple,  if  an  occasion  offered,  to 
inflict  any  injury  in  their  power: — he  believed  his 
camp,  or  its  vicinity,  by  no  means  a  proper  place 
where  such  characters  should  be  permitted  to  loiter. 

Particular  care  and  caution  had  been  early  taken 
that  embarrassments  on  the  score  of  citizenship  might 
not  arise.  Danger  threatening,  it  was  no  difficult  mak 
ter  to  perceive,  that  on  the  ground  of  being  subjects  of 
a  foreign  power,  and  owing  no  allegiance  to  the  Uni- 
ted States,  many  would  assert  a  neutrality  and  exemp- 
tion from  the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  the  field.  If 
entitled  to  this  character,  then  was  it  fair  they  should 
receive  whatever  of  immunity  could  attach  to  their 
claim ;  yet  if  in  prosperous  times  they  had  asserted 
their  right  to  be  citizens, — participated  in  our  privi- 
leges, and  drawn  to  themselves  all  the  benefits  apper- 
taining to  that  relation,  then  was  there  every  justice 
in  demanding  of  them  the  military  services  which 
were  exacted  of  others :  but  as  the  language  spoken 
was  not  vernacular,  any  inquiry  on  this  subject,  cal- 
culated to  result  in  certainty,  was  attended  with  diffi- 
culty. Fortunately,  however,  a  warmly  contested 
election,  the  preceding  summer,  had  taken  place  at 
New  Orleans,  and  a  register  of  the  votes  on  the  oc- 
casion had  been  preserved.  To  this  document  then, 
the  general  resorted,  and  with  this  unanswerable  ar- 
gument, that  those  who  had  voted,  and  thereby  par- 


408  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

ticipated  in  the  highest  privileges  of  the  country, 
should  not  now  be  permitted  to  deny,  or  throw  off',  a 
citizenship  thus  established.  By  this  mean,  he  ren- 
dered in  a  great  degree,  inoperative,  the  French  con- 
sul's certificates,  and  compelled  to  the  field,  spite  of 
their  consular  protection,  every  man  whose  name 
could  be  traced  on  the  election  roster. 

Our  own  citizens,  too,  were  giving  rise  to  difficul- 
ties, and  increasing  the  danger  of  the  moment.  Mr. 
Livingston  had  arrived  on  the  10th,  from  the  British 
fleet,  whither  he  had  gone  to  effect  a  general  cartel : 
through  him,  admiral  Cochrane  had  announced  the  ar- 
rival of  a  vessel  from  Jamaica,  with  news,  that  a  treaty 
of  peace  had  been  agreed  on  and  signed  by  the  two 
countries.  This  information  was  immediately  caught 
at  by  the  news-mongers,  and  either  from  intention,  or 
want  of  correct  intelligence,  it  suddenly  appeared  in 
the  Louisiana  gazette,  in  an  entirely  different  shape  : 
it  stated  the  arrival  of  a  flag  at  head-quarters,  which 
announced  the  conclusion  of  a  peace,  and  requested  a 
suspension  of  hostilities.  It  was  evident,  the  effect  of 
such  a  declaration  would  be,  to  introduce  lassitude,  or 
perhaps  disaffection  among  the  troops,  and  induce  a 
belief  that  their  accustomed  vigilance  was  no  longer 
necessary.  Sensible  of  this,  general  Jackson  sent  for 
the  editor,  and  instructed  him  to  alter  what  he  had 
stated,  and  exhibit  the  facts,  which  he  now  communi- 
cated to  him,  truly  as  they  were.  He  adopted  this 
course,  from  fear  of  the  consequences  to  be  produced 
to  himself.  One  thing  he  well  knew,,  that  the  enemy 
had  retired,  under  circumstances  of  mortification  and 
humbled  feeling,  at  their  complete  discomfiture ;  nor 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  409 

was  it  an  improbable  conjecture,  that  they  might  yet 
seek  an  accomplishment  of  their  views,  through  any 
channel  a  hope  of  success  could  be  discerned.  Might 
not  this  annunciation  of  peace,  and  request  for  the 
suspension  of  hostilities,  introduced  through  the 
public  journals,  be  a  devise  of  the  enemy  to  induce 
a  relaxation  in  his  system  of  operation  and  defence; 
to  divert  his  officers  and  ?  soldiers  from  that  atten- 
tion and  activity  so  essential  to  security, — to  excite 
discontents  and  murmurings,  and  a  desire  to  be  dis- 
charged from  the  further  drudgery  of  a  camp  ?  All 
these  dangers  he  saw  lurking  beneath  it,  if  false;  and 
whether  true  or  false,  it  was  foreign  to  his  duty  to  be 
influenced  by  any  thing,  until  it  should  be  officially 
communicated  by  his  government.  Fearful  of  the 
effect  it  might  produce,  he  lost  no  time  in  addressing 
his  army :  "  how  disgraceful,"  he  remarked,  "  as  well 
as  disastrous,  would  it  be,  if,  by  surrendering  ourselves 
credulously  to  newspaper  publications,  often  proceed- 
ing from  ignorance,  but  more  frequently  from  dishonest 
design,  we  should  permit  an  enemy,  whom  we  have  so 
lately  and  so  gloriously  beaten,  to  regain  the  advan- 
tages he  has  lost,  and  triumph  over  us  in  turn."  A 
general  order,  at  the  same  time,  announced  that  no 
publication  relating  to,  or  affecting  the  army,  was  to  be 
published  in  any  newspaper,  without  first  obtaining 
permission.  It  has  been  objected,  that  this  prohibi- 
tion, going  to  restrict  the  exercise  of  a  constitutional 
right,  was  an  outrage  op  the  feelings  and  liberty  of  the 
country  :  but  if  the  press  be  of  so  sacred  and  intacti- 
ble  a  character,  that  it  may  adopt  and  pursue  a  course, 
calculated  to  scatter  dissentions,  and  excite  mutiny  in 
the  ranks  of  an  army,  when  in  the  very  face  of  an 

3r 


410  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

enemy,  without  the  power  of  control,  it  is  a  circum- 
stance much  to  be  regretted.  Reflecting  minds  will 
determine,  if  an  interposition  of  power  were  not  ne- 
cessary, to  restrain  so  dangerous  a  freedom,  and  to 
avert  injury  from  a  country,  whose  protection  the 
press,  when  it  seeks  to  injure,  ceases  to  deserve. 

Notwithstanding  this  prohibition,  shortly  afterwards 
an  anonymous  publication  appeared  in  the  Louisiana 
Courier,  calculated  by  its  inflammatory  character  to  ex- 
cite mutiny  among  the  troops,  and  afford  the  enemy 
intelligence  of  the  situation  and  disposition  of  the 
army.  It  was  now  high  time,  the  general  believed,  to 
act  with  decision,  and  prove  by  the  rigid  exercise  of 
authority,  that  such  conduct  militated  against  the 
police  and  safety  of  his  camp,  and  required  not  to  be 
passed  with  impunity.  The  enemy  had  heretofore 
effected  a  landing,  secretly,  and  without  opposition1; 
and  although  beaten,  might  again  return.  If  spies 
were  to  be  nestled  in  his  camp,  and  permitted  to  go 
forth  to  the  world  with  the  gleanings  of  their  industry, 
it  was  folly  to  believe  the  enemy  would  not  profit  by 
the  information.  Martial  law  still  prevailed  in  New 
Orleans,  and  he  resolved  to  put  it  in  execution  against 
those  who  manifested  such  an  evident  disregard  of  the 
public  good.  The  editor  was  immediately  sent  for  to 
the  general's  quarters ;  he  stated  the  author  of  the 
piece  to  be Louaillier,  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  he  was  thereupon  discharged. 

Louaillier  was  arrested,  and  detained  for  trial.  This 
circumstance  afforded  civilians  a  fair  opportunity  of 
testing  if  it  were  in  the  power  of  a  commanding 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  41 1 

general  to  raise  the  military  above  the  civil  authority, 
and  render  it  superior  by  any  declaration  of  his.  Ap- 
plication was  made  to  judge  Hall  for  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which  was  immediately  issued.  The  general, 
to  render  the  example  as  efficacious  as  possible,  and 
from  information  that  the  judge  had  been  much  more 
officious  than  his  duty  required,  and  believing  in  fact, 
that  it  was  a  measure  of  combination  and  concert  to 
test  his  power,  determined  to  arrest  him  also,  and 
thereby  at  once  to  settle  the  question  of  authority.  On 
a  matter  involving  such  important  consequences,  he 
believed  it  best  to  have  it  determined  in  a  way  calcu- 
lated to  silence  opposition,  and  show  that  he  was  re- 
solved to  put  down  every  effort  to  thwart  the  mea- 
sures he  had  adopted  for  defence,  or  which  was  intend- 
ed to  destroy  the  police  which  he  had  established  for 
the  tranquillity  of  his  camp,  and  for  the  safety  of  the 
country. 

Instead  of  surrendering  Mr.  Louaillier,  and  acting  in 
obedience  to  the  writ,  which  had  issued  for  his  relief, 
he  seized  the  person  of  the  judge,  and,  on  the  1 1th  of 
the  month,  sent  him  from  the  city,  with  these  instruc- 
tions— "  I  have  thought  proper  to  send  you  b^ond  the 
limits  of  my  encampment,  to  prevent  a  repetition  of 
the  improper  conduct  with  which  you  have  been 
charged.  You  will  remain  without  the  line  of  my  sen- 
tinels until  the  ratification  of  peace  is  regularly  an- 
nounced, or  until  the  British  shall  have  left  the  south- 
ern coast"  He  did  this,  believing  he  was  right  in 
the  declaration  of  martial  law,  and  that  the  good  sense 
of  judge  Hall,  should,  at  so  momentous  a  period,  have 
taught  him  a  different  course.  He  did  it,  because  dis- 


412  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

posed  to  give  complete  effect  to  his  measures — to 
silence  opposition,  and  satisfy  the  refractory  and  de- 
signing, that  judicial  interference  should  not  mar  the 
execution  of  his  plans,  or  afford  a  screen,  behind  which 
treason  might  stalk  unmolested.  He  did  it,  to  make 
the  example  effectual,  and  to  obtain,  through  fear,  that 
security  which  could  not  be  had  through  love  of  coun- 
try. 

The  mind  coolly  calculating,  in  the  closet,  the  prin- 
ciples of  right  and  wrong,  cannot  fairly  appreciate  the 
merits  of  this  question.  Proper  inferences  can  be  only 
drawn,  by  bearing  in  recollection  all  those  circum- 
stances which  existed  at  the  moment.  That  a  zeal 
suited  to  the  occasion,  was  not  felt  by  all,  the  events 
already  adverted  to  abundantly  prove.  The  course 
pursued  by  the  legislature  had  evidenced  a  feeling 
and  conduct  which  had  forfeited  reliance ;  while  the 
enemy  being,  as  we  have  heretofore  shown,  constantly 
advised  of  every  thing  transacted  in  the  American 
camp,  plainly  evinced,  that  safety  and  success  were  to 
be  attained  in  no  other  way  than  by  pursuing  a  course 
at  once  firm  and  determined. 

% 

The  militia  had  already  grown  tired  of  the  field,  and 
sighed  to  be  discharged  from  their  toils.  To  impress 
on  their  minds  a  conviction,  that,  peace  being  restored, 
they  were  unnecessarily  detained  in  service,  when  it 
rested  on  rumour*  alone,  or  to  attempt,  by  any  course 
of  conduct,  to  render  them  more  disaffected,  carried 
with  it  such  a  degree  of  criminality  and  guilt,  as  could 
not  be  permitted,  without  endangering  the  safety  of 
the  country.  This  spirit  of  discontent  had  become  ex- 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

tensively  diffused.  The  different  posts,  which  had  been 
established,  could  with  difficulty  be  maintained.  The 
Kentucky  troops,  and  two  hundred  of  the  Louisiana 
militia,  stationed  in  defence  of  Villery's  canal,  had 
abandoned  their  post.  Chef  Menteur,  too,  a  point  no 
less  important,  had  been  forsaken  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  Louisianians,  in  despite  of  the  remon- 
strances and  exertions  of  their  officers  to  detain  them. 
Governor  Claiborne  had  been  heard  to  declare,  in 
words  of  mysterious  import,  that  serious  difficulties 
would  be  shortly  witnessed  in  New  Orleans.  For  the 
commanding  general,  at  a  time  like  this,  when  disaf- 
fection was  spreading  like  contagion  through  his  camp, 
patiently  to  have  stood  and  witnessed  mutiny  fomented 
and  encouraged  by  persons  who,  from  their  standing 
in  society,  were  calculated  to  possess  a  dangerous  in- 
fluence, would  have  been  a  crime  he  never  could  have 
sufficiently  atoned,  had  injury  resulted.  He  thought 
it  time  enough  to  relax  in  his  operations,  and  ground 
his  arms,  when  the  conclusion  of  peace  should  be  an- 
nounced through  the  proper  authorities.  Until  then, 
believing  that  imperious  duty  required  it,  he  resolved 
to  maintain  his  advantages,  and  check  opposition,  at 
every  hazard.  To  have  obeyed  the  writ  would  have 
been  idle.  He  had  declared  the  existence  of  military 
authority,  and  thereby  intended  to  supersede  all  judi- 
cial power.  If  he  had  obeyed  the  mandate,  it  would 
have  been  an  acknowledgment  of  civil  supremacy, 
and  a  virtual  abandonment  of  the  course  he  had  adopt- 
ed. It  was  not  an  improbable  event,  that  the  petitioner 
would  be  discharged,  on  a  hearing,  because  guilty  of 
no  offence  cognizable  by  the  civil  courts.  He  had  not 
levied  war  against  the  country,  nor  directly  aided  the 


414  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

enemy  ;  but  had  done  that  which  was  paralyzing  exer- 
tion, scattering  'dissention,  introducing  mutiny,  and 
thinning  the  ranks  of  the  army.  Either,  then,  judicial 
interference  should  have  been  disregarded,  or  the  ar- 
rest was  wholly  unnecessary.  But  whether  the  course 
pursued  were  right  or  wrong,  the  effect  was  import- 
ant and  salutary,  for  good  order  was  restored,  and  dis- 
organizers  forthwith  were  hushed  to  silence. 

On  the  13th  of  the  month,  two  days  after  the  de- 
parture of  judge  Hall  from  the  city,  an  express  reach- 
ed head-quarters,  with  despatches  from  the  war  de- 
partment, at  Washington  City,  announcing  the  con- 
clusion of  a  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  and  directing  a  cessation  of  hostilities. 
A  similar  communication  from  his  government  was 
received  by  general  Lambert,  shortly  afterwards,  and 
on  the  19th,  military  operations,  by  the  two  armies, 
entirely  ceased.  The  aspect  of  affairs  was  now  chang- 
ing :  the  militia  were  discharged  from  service ;  bustle 
was  subsiding ;  and  joy  and  tranquillity  every  where 
appearing.  A  proclamation,  by  the  direction  of  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  was  issued,  extending 
pardon  and  forgiveness  for  past  offences. 

Judge  Hall,  being  restored  to  the  exercise  of  those 
functions,  of  which  he  had  been  lately  bereaved,  by 
military  arrest,  proceeded,  without  loss  of  time,  to  an 
examination  of  what  had  passed,  and  to  become  the 
arbiter  of  his  own  wrongs  and  injuries.  Accordingly,  on 
the  21st,  he  granted  a  rule  of  court  for  general  Jack- 
son to  appear,  and  show  cause  why  an  attachment  for 
contempt  should  not  be  awarded,  on  the  ground  that 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  415 

he  had  refused  to  obey  a  writ  issued  to  him, — detained 
an  original  paper  belonging  to  the  court,  and  imprison- 
ed the  judge.* 

In  this  case,  there  was  certainly  too  much  latitude 
for  an  improper  indulgence  of  feeling,  for  the  judge, 
the  complaining  party,  to  have  claimed  any  kind  of 
interference :  it  would  have  been  more  advisable  to 
have  appealed  to  a  jury  of  his  country,  and  thus 
brought  before  a  dispassionate  tribunal,  the  question 
of  the  illegality  of  his  arrest  and  detention.  But,  by  be- 
coming the  prosecutor  and  arbiter  of  his  own  griev- 
ances, he  placed  himself  in  a  situation,  were  reason 
could  have  but  little  agency,  calculated  to  do  injustice, 
and  attach  to  his  decision  suspicion  and  censure.  It 
would  have  been  more  satisfactory  to  Jackson,  to  have 
met  the  inquiry  before  a  less  partial  tribunal ;  yet,  al- 
though he  was  well  convinced  of  its  being  an  extra- 
judicial  proceeding,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  appear,  and 
submit  the  grounds  which  he  believed  ought  fully  to 
acquit  him  of  all  alleged  guilt.  The  trial  by  jury  was 
secured,  generally,  in  criminal  prosecutions,  and  in  all 
others,  except  where  the  law,  from  conceived  necessi- 
ty, had  directed  a  more  summary  course.  But  the 
authority  of  courts  had  already  settled,  that  statutes 
which  infringe  the  privilege  of  jury  trial,  were  never 
to  receive  a  liberal  construction,  and  could  be  made  to 
operate  only  in  cases  which  came  strictly  within  their 


*  The  writ  had  been  detained,  and  a  certified  copy  given,  on  ac- 
count of  its  having  been  altered  by  judge  Hall,  in  a  material  part. 
The  general's  reasons  for  the  detention  will  be  found  in  his  answer, 
at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


416 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX. 


letter:  inasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  indignity  complained 
of,  and  the  right  to  punish  for  contempt,  was  not  clearly 
within  the  provisions  of  any  existing  law,  but  merely 
a  right  incidental  to  judicial  power,  it  was  believed  the 
court  possessed  no  jurisdiction  of  the  case, — that  it 
deserved  to  be  classed  with  general  injuries,  and  in- 
quired into  by  a  jury.  Claiming  to  himself  this  and 
other  exceptions  to  the  jurisdiction,  he  met  the  inves- 
tigation. He  was  the  more  disposed  to  do  so,  because 
the  busy  politicians  of  the  city  had  condemned  his 
acts,  without  seeking  for  the  reasons  which  had  in- 
duced them.  An  opportunity  was  now  presented  of 
developing  them  fully,  and  of  bringing  to  the  view  of 
his  country,  the  weighty  considerations  that  had  in- 
fluenced his  mind,  and  to  which,  in  a  great  measure, 
were  to  be  ascribed  the  protection  and  safety  the 
country  had  experienced. 

On  the  24th,  his  appearance  being  entered,  he  stood 
represented  at  the  bar  by  John  Reid,  his  aid-de-camp, 
and  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Duncan.  Major  Reid  ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  court,  remarked,  that  he  appear- 
ed with  the  general's  answer,  supported  by  an  affidavit, 
which  wrent  to  show,  that  the  rule  should  be  discharg- 
ed, and  no  further  proceeding  had  against  him.  A  cu- 
rious course  of  judicial  proceeding  was  now  witnessed. 
Cause,  why  the  rule  should  not  be  made  absolute,  was 
to  be  shown,  and  yet  the  judge  would  determine 
whether  the  reasons  were  exceptionable  or  not,  pre- 
viously to  their  being  heard  or  seen.  The  counsel 
urged  in  vain,  the  propriety  of  his  hearing  first,  before 
he  decided,  if  the  answer  were  consonant  with  pro- 
priety. This  was  over-ruled.  He  would  first  deter- 


LI.FE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  417 

mine  what  it  should  be.  If  within  any  of  the  rules  laid 
down,  it  should  be  heard, — not  else. 

"  If,"  remarked  the  judge,  "  the  party  object  to  the 
jurisdiction,  he  shall  be  heard. 

"  If  it  be  a  denial  of  facts;  or  that  the  facts  charged 
do  not  amount  to  a  contempt,  he  shall  be  heard. 

"  If  it  be  an  apology  to  the  court ;  or  an  intention  to 
show,  that  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  virtue  of  his  military  commission,  he  had 
a  right  to  act  as  charged,  the  court  will  hear  him." 

Hear  what  it  does  contain,  and  you  can  then  decide 
if  it  come  under  any  of  the  general  rules  laid  down, 
was  replied  and  argued  at  length  by  his  counsel,  as 
the  correct  and  proper  course. 

After  a  debate  of  considerable  length,  Major  Reid 
was  permitted  to  proceed  and  to  read  the  answer.  He 
had  gotten  through  the  exceptions  reserved  as  to  the 
jurisdiction,  and  was  proceeding  with  the  respondent's 
reasons,  showing  the  necessity,  and  hence  the  conse- 
quent propriety  of  declaring  martial  law,  when  he  was 
again  interrupted  by  the  judge,  because  coming  with- 
in none  of  the  rules  which  he  had  laid  down.  The 
ears  of  the  court  were  closed  against  every  thing  of 
argument  or  reason,  and  without  hearing  the  defence, 
the  rule  against  him  wa£  rendered  Absolute,  and  the 
attachment  sued  out. 

This  process  was  made  returnable  the  31st:  and 

30 


418  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

on  that  day  the  general  appeared.    Public  feeling  was 
excited,  and  the  crowd,  on  the  tiptoe  of  expectation, 
were  anxiously  waiting  to  know  what  punishment  the 
judge  would  think  due  to  acts  which  all  agreed  had 
mainly  contributed  to  the  success  of  our  cause.    Jack- 
son, previously  apprized  of  the  popular  fervor  towards 
him,  and  solicitous  that  nothing  on  his  part  should  be 
done  calculated  to  give  it  impulse,  practised  more  than 
usual  caution :  and  now  when  it  had  become  neces- 
sary to  appear  in  public,  to  ward  himself  from  crimes 
imputed,  he  threw  off  his  military  costume,  and  as-* 
suming  the  garb  of  a  citizen,  the  better  to  disguise  him- 
self,  entered   alone  the  hall,  where  the   court  was 
sitting.     Undiscovered   amidst  the  concourse  which 
was  present,  he  had  nearly  reached  the  bar,  when, 
being  perceived,  the   room  instantly  rung  with  the 
shouts  of  a  thousand  voices.     Raising  himself  on  a 
bench  and  moving  his  hand,  to  procure  silence,   a 
pause  ensued.  He  then  addressed  himself  to  the  crowd ; 
told  them  of  the  duty  due  to  the  public  authorities ; 
for  that  any  impropriety  of  theirs  would  be  imputed 
to  him,  and  urged,  if  they  had  any  regard  for  him,  that 
they  would,  on  the  present  occasion,  forbear  those 
feelings  and  expressions  of  opinion.   Silence  being  re- 
stored, the  judge  rose  from  his  seat,  and  remarking, 
that  it  was  impossible,  nor  safe,  to  transact  business 
at  such  a  moment,  and  under  such  threatening  circum- 
stances, directed  the  marshal  to  adjourn  the  court.  The 
general  immediately  interfered,  and  requested  that  it 
might  not  be  done.  "  There  is  no  danger  here  ;  there 
shall  be  none— the  same  arm  that  protected  from  out- 
rage this  city,  against  the  invaders  of  the  country,  will 
shield  and  protect  this  court,  or  perish  in  the  effort." 


0$  GENERAL  JACKSON.  4l9 

This  declaration  had  the  effect  to  tranquillize  the  feel- 
ings and  apprehensions  of  the  judge ;  and  the  business 
of  the  court  was  proceeded  with.  It  was  now  de* 
manded  of  him  to  answer  nineteen  interrogatories, 
drawn  up  with  much  labour,  and  in  studied  form, 
which  were  to  determine  as  to  his  guilt  or  innocence, 
He  informed  the  court  he  should  not  be  interrogated  j 
that,  on  a  former  occasion,  he  had  presented  the  rea- 
sons which  had  influenced  his  conduct,  without  their 
producing  an  effect,  or  being  even  listened  to.  "  You 
would  not  hear  my  defence,  although  you  were  ad- 
vised it  contained  nothing  improper,  and  ample  rea- 
sons why  no  attachment  should  be  awarded.  Under 
these  circumstances,  I  appear  before  you,  to  receive 
the  sentence  of  the  court,  having  nothing  further  in 
my  defence  to  offer* 

"  Your  honour  will  not  understand  me  as  intending 
any  disrespect  to  the  court;  but  as  no  opportunity  has 
been  afforded  me  of  explaining  the  reasons  and  mo- 
tives by  which  I  was  influenced,  so  is  it  expected^ 
that  censure  or  reproof  will  constitute  no  part  of  that 
sentence  which  you  may  imagine  it  your  duty  to  pro- 
nounce." . 

The  judge  proceeded  to  a  final  discharge  of  what 
he  conceived  was  due  to  the  offended  majesty  of  the 
laws,  and  fined  the  general  a  thousand  dollars. 

The  hall  in  which  this  business  was  transacted  was 
greatly  crowded,  and  excitement  every  where  pre- 
vailed. No  sooner  was  the  judgment  of  the  court  pro- 
bounced,  than  again  were  sent  forth  shouts  of  the 


429  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

pie.  He  was  now  seized  and  forcibly  hurried  from 
the  hall  to  the  streets,  amidst  reiterated  cries  of  huzza 
for  Jackson,  from  the  immense  concourse  that  sur- 
rounded him.  They  presently  met  a  carriage  in  which 
a  lady  was  riding,  when,  politely  taking  her  from  it, 
the  general  was  made,  spite  of  entreaty,  to  occupy  her 
place  :  the  horses  being  removed,  the  carriage  was 
drawn  on,  and  halted  at  the  coffee-house,  into  which 
he  was  carried,  and  thither  the  crowd  folloAved,  huz- 
zaing for  Jackson,  and  menacing  violently  the  judge. 
Having  prevailed  on  them  to  hear  him,  he  addressed 
them  with  great  feeling  and  earnestness;  implored 
them  to  run  into  no  excesses ;  that  if  they  had  the 
least  gratitude  for  his  services,  or  regard  for  him  per- 
sonally j  they  could  evince  it  in  no  way  so  satisfactori- 
ly, as  by  assenting,  as  he  most  freely  did,  to  the  deci- 
sion which  had  just  been  pronounced  against  him. 
"  That  the  civil  was  the  paramount  and  supreme  au- 
thority of  the  land.  He  had  never  pretended  to  any 
thing  else,  nor  advocated  a  different  doctrine.  He  had 
departed  from  its  rules,  because  that  they  were  too 
feeble  for  the  state  of  the  times.  By  a  resort  to  mar- 
tial law,  he  had  succeeded  in  defending  and  protecting 
a  country,  which,«without  it,  must  have  been  lost;  yet 
under  its  provisions  he  had  oppressed  no  one,  nor  ex- 
tended them  to  any  other  purpose  than  defence  and 
safety;  objects  which  its  declaration  was  intended 
alone  to  effect."  "  I  feel,"  continued  he*  "  sensible  for 
those  marks  of  personal  regard  which  you  have  evinc- 
ed towards  me ;  and  with  pleasure  remember  those 
high  efforts  of  valour  and  patriotism  which  so  essen- 
tially contributed  to  the  defence  of  the  country.  If 
recent  events  have  shown  you  what  fearless  valour 


OF  GENERAL  JACKSOX.  421 

can  effect,  it  is  a  no  less  important  truth  to  learn,  that 
submission  to  the  civil  authority  is  the  first  duty  of  a 
citizen.     In  the  arduous  necessity  imposed  on  me,  of 
defending  this  important  and  interesting  city,  imperi- 
ous circumstances  compelled  me,  either  to  jeopardize 
those  important  interests  which  were  confided  to  me, 
or  to  take  upon  myself  the  responsibility  of  those  mea- 
sures  which   have   been   termed   high  handed,  but 
which,  I  thought,  absolutely  essential  for  defence.  Thus 
situated,  I  did  not  hesitate — I  could  not.     I  risked  all 
consequences ;  and  you  have  seen  me  meet  the  penal- 
ty of  my  aggression,  and  bow  with   submission  to  the 
sentence  of  the  law.    Had  the  penalty  imposed  reach- 
ed the  utmost  extent  of  my  ability  to  meet  it,  I  should 
not  have  murmured  or  complained ;  nor  now,  when  it 
is  ended,  would  I  forbear  a  similar  course  were  the 
same  necessity  and  circumstances  again  to  recur.     If 
the  offence  with  which  I  am  now  charged  had  not 
been  committed,  the  laws  by  which  I  have  been  punish- 
ed would  not  now   exist:      Sincerely  do  I    rejoice 
in  their  maintenance  and  safety,  although  the  first 
vindication   of   their    violated    supremacy   has   been 
evinced  in  the  punishment    of  myself.     The   order 
and    decorum    manifested   by    you,    amidst    various 
circumstances  of  strong  excitement,  merits  my  warm- 
est acknowledgments.     I  pray  you,  permit  that  mode- 
ration to  continue.     If   you  have  any  regard  for  me, 
you  will  not  do  otherwise  than  yield  respect  to  the 
justice  of  the  country,  and  to  the  character  of  its  min- 
isters ;  that  feeling  and  disposition  will,  I  trust,  always 
characterize  you ;  and  evince  on  your  part,  as  firm  a 
disposition  to  maintain  inviolate  and  unimpaired  the 
laws  of  the  country,  as  you  have  recently  shown  to 


422  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

defend  yourself  against  invasion  and  threatened  out- 
rage." Mr.  Davasac,  who  had  acted  in  the  capacity  of 
volunteer  aid,  being  requested  by  the  general,  rose, 
and  in  the  French  language,  repeated  the  substance  of 
the  remarks  previously  delivered  by  Jackson.  He 
urged  zealously  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  good 
order,  and  thus  produced  tranquillity  to  excited  feel- 
ing. 

Being  at  length  relieved  from  this  warm  display  of 
gratitude  and  regard  manifested  towards  him  for  the 
exertions  he  had  made  in  their  defence,  Jackson  retired 
to  his  quarters,  and  giving  a  check  to  his  aid-de-camp, 
sent  him  to  discharge  the  fine  imposed,  and  to  termi- 
nate his  contest  with  the  civil  authority.  He  was 
greatly  consoled  at  learning,  through  various  respect- 
able channels,  that  all  was  tranquil,  and  that  against 
the  judge  nothing  of  indignity  or  unkindness  was  lon- 
ger meditated. 

So  riveted  was  the  impression,  that  the  course  pur- 
sued by  the  commanding  general  was  correct,  and  the 
conduct  of  judge  Hall  more  the  result  of  spleen  than 
any  thing  else,  that  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  deter- 
mined to  ward  off  the  effect  of  his  intended  injury,  by 
discharging,  themselves,  the  fine  imposed.  It  was 
only  necessary  to  be  thought  of,  and  it  was  done.  So 
numerous  were  the  persons,  entertaining  the  same 
feelings  on  the  subject,  that  in  a  short  time  the  entire 
sum  was  raised  by  voluntary  contribution.  The  gene- 
ral understanding  what  was  in  agitation,  to  spare  his 
own  and  their  feelings,  had  despatched  "his  aid-de- 
camp to  seek  the  marshal,  and  thereby  avoided  the 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  423 

necessity  of  refusing  a  favour,  intended  to  be  offered, 
and  which  he  could  not  have  accepted.  Without,  how- 
ever, any  knowledge  of  his  wishes,  or  consulting  at  all 
his  feelings  on  the  subject,  they  proceeded  in  the  ar- 
rangement, and,  by  subscription,  the  entire  amount 
was  in  a  short  time  raised,  and  deposited  to  his  use  in 
bank,  and  notice  thereof  given.  But  it  was  not  ac- 
cepted ;  though  refused  in  a  manner  the  most  delicate. 
In  reply,  he  declared  the  obligations  felt  for  this  re- 
newed evidence  of  regard;  and,  although  he  could  not 
accept  of  it,  yet  as  it  was  the  result  of  the  most  gene- 
rous feeling,  he  solicited  that  the  amount  might  be 
applied  to  the  assistance  and  relief  of  those  whose  re- 
latives, during  the  siege,  had  fallen  in  battle.  The 
proposition  made  was  acceded  to,  and  the  amount 
subscribed,  and  which  had  been  designed  expressly 
for  his  relief,  was  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless. 

Those  who  are  disposed  to  be  informed  further 
upon  this  subject,  and  to  know,  if  in  declaring  martial 
law  he  acted  correctly,  or  whether,  short  of  the  stern 
and  determined  course  adopted,  he  could  have  effect- 
ed the  important  ends  he  accomplished,  and  preserved 
from  dishonour,  wretchedness  and  ruin,  the  country 
and  its  inhabitants,  can  refer  to  the  able  and  eloquent 
answer,  submitted  to  the  court,  and  which  was  refused 
to  be  heard.  Jt  will  be  found  replete  with  reasons 
calculated  to  satisfy  the  mind  that  the  course  he  took 
was  required  by  every  principle  of  propriety  and  ne- 
cessity.* 

*  See  note  F. 


424  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSCKN. 

To  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  belongs  to 
congress,  by  the  constitution.     It  restricts  any  interfe- 
rence, except  in  cases  of  invasion  or  insurrection.   To 
say  that  it  is  a  privilege  which  must  be  continued  to 
the  citizen  until  discharged  by  a  law,  embracing  the 
circumstances  of  every  case  that  may  arise,  is  to  sup- 
pose a  something  that  never  can  happen.    An  invasion 
might  be  made,  a  thousand  miles  from  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, or  in  the  recess  of  congress,  when  no  author- 
ity, competent  to  its  suspension,  did  exist.     The  Ro- 
man maxim,  inter  arma  silent  leges,  had  its  origin  in 
the  necessities  of  the  republic,  and  must  occasionally 
apply  to  the  condition  and  circumstances  of  every 
country.     In  all  governments  there  are  moments  of 
danger  and  distress,  when,  no  matter  how  cautiously 
protected  be  the  rights  of  the  citizens,  those  rights 
must  be  disregarded,  not  for  the  purpose  of  being  de- 
stroyed, but  that  they  may  be  more  permanently  se- 
cured.    Certainly  none  but  an  officer,  acting  upon  an 
enemy's  line,  privy  to  all  his  intrigues,  stratagems,  and 
wiles,  can  so  correctly  judge  of  the  emergency,  re- 
quiring the  exercise  of  such  power.     He  assumes  a 
weighty  responsibility ;  but,  with  an  intelligent  world, 
hazards  no  more,  than  to  be  abie  to  show,  that  threat- 
ening danger,  and  unavoidable  necessity,  required  him 
to  act.     Cases  have  occurred  where  the  constitution 
has  been  violated  without  reproach.   A  previous  appro- 
priation by  Congress  is  required,  or  monies  are  forbid- 
den to  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury ;  and  yet  this  rule 
has  been  disregarded  when  circumstances  made  it  ne- 
cessary ;  and  sometimes  too,  violated  when  the  neces- 
sities of  the  country  did  not  demand  it.     Few  generals 
have,  in   all   situations,  respected  private  property; 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  425 

when  the  country  afforded  provisions,  and  their  armies 
were  in  want,  they  have  wrested  them  from  the  own- 
er. Here,  it  may  be  said,  compensation  and  atone- 
ment can  be  offered,  but  none  for  the  violation  of 
personal  liberty :  this,  however,  is  a  distinction  without 
a  difference,  because  both  rights  are  equally  sacred, 
and  the  infringement  of  one  is  no  less  a  constitutional 
violation  than  the  other.  We  would  have  but  little 
cause  to  applaud  the  prudence,  energy,  or  good  sense 
of  a  commanding  general,  who  should  suffer  distress 
and  want  in  his  camp,  mutiny  in  his  army,  and  ruin  to 
his  country,  when  he  possessed  the  means  of  preventing 
them,  yet  omitted  their  exercise,  because  the  constitu- 
tion forbade  him  to  act.  Highly  as  we  may  appreciate 
the  man,  who,  when  clothed  with  authority,  avoids 
infringing  this  sacred  shield  of  our  liberty,  yet,  to  hesi- 
tate, when  surrounded  by  peril  and  danger,  would  de- 
servedly attach  to  him  the  censures  of  the  patriotic 
and  the  good.  Whenever  individual  rights  shall  be 
trampled  on,  and  personal  liberty  disregarded  and 
violated,  merited  reproach  will  pursue  him  whose  only 
justification  may  be,  that  he  possessed  the  power :  but, 
when  founded  on  necessity, — demanded  by  the  exi- 
gency of  the  moment,  and  obviously  resorted  to  for 
the  protection  and  safety  of  the  country,  it  will  be  ex- 
cused, approved,  nay,  even  commended :  nor  will  the 
act  be  punished,  unless  some  victim  to  it  should 
chance  to  sit  in  judgment 

Much  as  has  been  said  of  this  declaration  of  mar- 
tial law,  and  greatly  as  it  has  been  complained  of,  yet 
is  it  difficult  to  conceive  what  other  course  for  safety 
could,  with  equal  effect,  have  been  resorted  to.  None 

3  n 


426  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

will  pretend,  that  it  was  not  an  infraction  of  con*» 
stitutional  right ;  though  none  can  seriously  entertain 
a  belief,  under  all  the  circumstances,  that  imperious 
necessity  did  not  demand  the  introduction  of  some 
similar,  if  not  presisely  such  a  measure.  Although  so 
much  has  been  said  and  written  of  this  imputed  ag- 
gression on  the  rights  of  the  citizen ;  and,  although 
it  has  so  often  been  denounced  as  a  high  handed  act 
of  tyranny,  yet  when  the  measure  itself,  and  all  its 
incidents,  are  fully  examined,  nothing  of  oppression  or 
injustice  can  be  traced.  Jackson  alone  was  the  suf- 
ferer :  he  suffered  by  the  fine  imposed  on  him,  and  by 
torrents  of  abuse,  which  ever  since  have  been  lavish- 
ly poured  upon  him.  A  member  of  the  legislature, 
who  had  not  merely  attempted,  but  in  fact  succeeded 
in  exciting  mutiny  and  insubordination  in  the  army, 
when  in  the  very  face  of  an  enemy,  and  the  arrest  of 
the  judge,  who, by  a  too  officious  interference,  seemed  to 
stand  forth  a  participant  in  the  offence,  constitutes  the 
whole  of  what  took  place  under  the  declaration  of 
martial  law.  Judge  Hall  was  not  imprisoned  :  it  was 
simply  an  arrest.  During  the  siege,  he  had  absented 
himself  from  the  city,  and  gone  to  Baton  Rouge.  He 
had  afforded  neither  by  example  or  advice,  any  assist- 
ance to  our  cause,  while  the  enemy  was  present ;  but 
had  retired  on  the  first  appearance  of  danger,  nor  re- 
turned until  it  had  disappeared.  Whether  they  would 
reappear,  and  where,  could  not  be  told ;  and  hence, 
whatever  necessity  may  have  induced  the  declaration, 
that  same  necessity  imperiously  demanded  its  contin- 
uance. On  his  arrest,  he  was  merely  sent  to  a  distance, 
and  placed  at  liberty  under  an  order  containing  no 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  427 

other  restriction,  than  that  he  should  not  approach  the 
city  nearer  than  twelve  miles. 

Louaillier  was  detained  under  guard,  and  brought 
before  a  court-martial,  of  which  general  Gaines  was 
president,  charged  under  the  second  section  of  the 
rules  and  articles  of  war,  as  one  "  owing  allegiance  to 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  found  lurking  as  a 
spy  about  the  encampment :"  for  the  reason,  however, 
that  the  inflammatory  and  mutinous  publication  which 
had  occasioned  his  arrest,  could  not  be  shown  to  have 
been  conveyed  to  the  enemy,  he  was  acquitted — the  quo 
animo  being  from  this  circumstance  in  the  proof  not 
sufficiently  apparent.  That  none  might  be  uninform- 
ed of  the  law,  the  following  official  notice  had  been 
circulated  through  the  public  journals. 

Head  Quarters,  7th  Military  District. 
SECT.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  in  time  of 
war,  all  persons  not  citizens  of,  or  owing  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  who  shall  be  found  lurking 
as  spies  in  or  about  the  fortifications  or  encampments 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them, 
shall  suffer  death,  according  to  the  law  and  usage  of 
nations,  by  sentence  of  a  general  court-martial. 

The  city  of  New  Orleans  and  its  environs  being 
under  martial  law,  and  the  several  encampments  and 
fortifications  within  its  limits,  it  is  necessary  to  give 
publicity  to  the  above  section,  for  the  information  of 
all  concerned. 
By  command. 

ROBERT  BUTLER,  Adjutant-  Generak 


428  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

Conversing  with  general  Jackson,  once,  concerning 
the  declaration  of  martial  law,  he  expressed  himself 
after  the  following  manner.  "  I  very  well  knew  the 
extent  of  my  powers,  and  that  it  was  far  short  of  that 
which  necessity  and  my  situation  required.  I  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  venture  boldly  forth,  and  pursue 
a  course  correspondent  to  the  difficulties  that  pressed 
upon  me.  I  had  an  anxious  solicitude  to  wipe  off  the 
stigma  cast  upon  my  country  by  the  destruction  of  the 
capital.  •  If  New  Orleans  were  taken,  I  well  knew 
that  new  difficulties  would  arise,  and  every  effort  be 
made  to  retain  it ;  and  that  if  regained,  blood  and  trea- 
sure would  be  the  sacrifice.  My  determination,  there- 
fore, was  formed,  not  to  halt  at  trifles,  but  to  lose  the 
city  only  at  the  boldest  sacrifice ;  and  to  omit  nothing 
that  could  assure  success.  I  was  well  aware  that  calcu- 
lating politicians,  ignorant  of  the  difficulties  that  sur- 
rounded me,  would  condemn  my  course ;  but  this  was 
not  material.  What  became  of  me,  was  of  no  conse- 
quence. If  disaster  did  come,  I  expected  not  to  sur- 
vive it ;  but  if  a  successful  defence  could  be  made,  1 
felt  assured  that  my  country,  in  the  objects  attained, 
would  lose  sight  of,  and  forget  the  means  that  had 
been  employed." 

The  war  being  now  ended,  it  was  indispensable  to 
hasten  the  necessary  arrangements  to  relieve  from  the 
toils  of  the  field  those  brave  men  who  had  so  long 
been  struggling  in  their  country's  defence.  The  ne- 
cessary measures  to  effect  this  were  adopted.  The 
Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Mississippi  troops  had 
taken  their  departure.  General  Gaiiies  being  invested 
with  the  command,  in  a  few  days  general  Jackson  left 


L1FB  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  429 

New  Orleans  for  Nashville.  The  good  wishes  and 
friendship  of  the  people  followed  him :  there  were 
a  few,  however,  who  rejoiced  at  his  departure ;  but 
they  were  those,  who,  in  moments  of  peril,  had  stood 
aloof  from  danger,  or  sought  to  increase  it;  and  who, 
in  the  reproaches  to  be  cast  upon  him,  expected  to 
palliate  their  own  misdeeds.  They  had  no  unpleas- 
ant sensations  at  being  relieved  from  the  presence  of 
one  who,  they  believed,  was  fully  acquainted  with  the 
abandoned  course  they  had  pursued:  but  the  great 
body  of  the  citizens,  mindful  of  his  vigilance,  and 
of  the  weighty  privations  he  had  encountered  for 
their  safety  and  protection,  fondly  cherished  a  recol- 
lection of  what  he  had  done,  and  felt  every  gratitude 
towards  him.  Previously  to  breaking  up  his  encamp- 
ment, he  addressed  his  army,  and  declared  the  high 
sense  he  entertained  of  those  valiant  men,  who,  with 
him,  had  toiled  in  the  field,  and  who,  by  perseverance 
and  fidelity,  had  obtained  safety  for  their  country,  and 
distinguished  honour  for  themselves.* 

On  his  return,  the  respect  of  all  was  manifested*  m 
his  behalf: — all  evinced  a  partiality  for  the  man  whose, 
signal  achievements  had  raised  his  country  to  a  high 
and  dignified  standing,  and  whose  unremitting  exertion* 
had  closed  the  war  with  a  lustre  that  enlightened  even 
the  blots  of  its  commencement.  He  carried  with  him 
a  consciousness  of  having  discharged  his  duty;  and 
although,  from  necessity,  he  had  been  compelled  to 
the  exercise  of  a  rigid  severity,  which  he  would  gladly 
have  avoided,  yet  now,  when  feeling  was  lulled, 

*  See  note  G. 


430  LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

danger  past,  he  beheld  nothing  to  excite  regret,  or 
convince  him  he  was  wrong.  If,  however,  he  could 
before  have  doubted,  this  general  manifestation  of 
public  regard  was  sufficient  to  quiet  his  apprehensions. 
The  citizens  of  the  United  States  were  yet  too  virtu- 
ous, merely  because  of  his  battle  achievments,  to  be- 
stow such  unqualified  approbation,  could  they  have  be- 
lieved that,  when  invested  with  power,  he  had  wanton- 
ly trampled  on  the  rights  of  individuals,  and  outraged 
the  sacred  principles  of  the  constitution :  and  yet  this 
approval  of  his  conduct  was  evinced  not  only  by  the 
citizens  of  the  country  where  he  passed,  but  by  con- 
gress, and  the  legislatures  of  different  states — all  bore 
testimony  to  the  propriety  of  his  measures,  by  the 
commendations  they  bestowed. 

The  annunciation  of  the  triumphant  defence  of  New 
Orleans,  was,  in  every  section  of  the  country,  hailed 
with  acclamation ;  illuminations  and  fetes  followed  it 
into  all  our  cities  and  principal  towns  ;  and  in  all  was 
it  agreed,  that  none  other  than  the  decided  course 
adopted  by  Jackson,  could  have  attained  so  auspicious 
a  result.  The  legislatures  of  many  of  the  states  voted 
to  him  their  approbation  and  thanks  for  what  he  had 
done.  The  congress  of  the  United  States  did  the 
same,  and  directed  a  gold  medal  to  be  presented  to 
him,  commemorative  of  the  event.  Addresses  from 
numerous  societies  and  meetings  of  the  people  were 
forwarded,  expressive  of  their  great  regard,  and  pro- 
claiming him  the  deliverer  and  second  saviour  of  his 
country. 

A  tedious  journey  of  eight  hundred  miles  brought 


LIFE  OP  GENERAL  JACKSON.  431 

him  to  Nashville,  where  he  was  gratified  with  a  fur- 
ther evidence  of  a  people's  regard.  An  immense  con- 
course was  collected,  to  greet  his  return,  and  welcome 
his  arrival.  They  had  long  known  him  as  among  the 
number  of  their  best  and  most  respectable  citizens ; 
but  curiosity  had  a  new  incentive :  until  now,  they 
had  not  beheld  him  as  one,  who,  to  protect  his  coun- 
try, knew  no  difficulty  too  great  to  be  encountered — 
who,  by  his  firmness  and  unconquerable  perseverance, 
amidst  surrounding  dangers,  had  shielded  and  saved 
her  from  foreign  and  intestine  foes.  An  address,  pre- 
viously prepared,  and  delivered  at  the  court-room,  in 
behalf  of  the  citizens,  welcomed  his  return.  Relieved 
from  this  further  display  of  public  confidence,  the  more 
grateful,  because  from  those  who  were  his  acquain- 
tances, neighbours,  and  friends,  he  retired  home,  to 
repair  a  broken  constitution,  and  to  enjoy  that  repose, 
to  which,  for  eighteen  months,  he  had  been  a  stranger. 

In  the  person  of  general  Jackson  is  perceived  no- 
thing of  the  robust  or  elegant.  He  is  six  feet  and  an 
inch  high,  remarkably  straight  and  spare,  and  weighs 
not  more  than  a  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds.  His 
conformation  appears  to  disqualify  him  for  hardship; 
yet,  accustomed  to  it  from  early  life,  few  are  capable 
of  enduring  fatigue  to  the  same  extent,  or  with  less 
injury.  His  dark  blue  eyes,  with  brows  arched  and 
slightly  projecting,  possess  a  marked  expression  ;  but 
when,  from  any  cause,  excited,  they  sparkle  with  pe- 
culiar lustre  and  penetration.  In  his  manners  he  is 
pleasing — in  his  address  commanding ;  while  his  coun- 
tenance, marked  with  firmness  and  decision,  beams 
with  a  strength  and  intelligence  that  strikes  at  first 


432  UFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

sight.  In  his  deportment,  there  is  nothing  repulsive. 
Easy,  affable,  and  familiar,  he  is  open  and  accessible 
to  all.  Influenced  by  the  belief,  that  merit  should  con- 
stitute the  only  difference  in  men,  his  attention  is 
equally  bestowed  on  honest  poverty  as  on  titled  con- 
sequence. No  man,  however  inconsiderable  his  stand- 
ing, ever  approached  him  on  business,  that  he  did  not 
patiently  listen  to  his  story,  and  afford  him  all  the  in- 
formation in  his  power.  His  moral  character  is  with- 
out reproach,  and  by  those  who  know  him  most 
intimately,  he  is  most  esteemed.  Benevolence,  in  him, 
is  a  prominent  virtue.  He  was  never  known  to  pass 
distress  without  seeking  to  assist  and  to  relieve  it. 

It  is  imputed  to  him,  that  he  derives  from  his  birth 
a  temper  irritable  and  hasty,  which  has  had  the  effect 
to  create  enemies,  and  involve  him  in  disputes.  In  a 
world  like  this,  exemption  from  every  fault  is  not  to 
be  expected;  to  a  higher  destiny  is  perfection  reserv- 
ed! For  purposes  wriser  than  man  can  conjecture, 
has  it  been  ordained,  that  vice  and  virtue  shall  exist 
together  in  the  human  breast,  tending  like  the  happy 
blending  of  light  and  shade  in  a  picture,  to  reflect  each 
other  in  brighter  contrast.  Some  of  those  foibles  and 
imperfections  therefore,  which  heaven  usually  mingles 
in  the  composition  of  man,  are  to  be  looked  for,  and 
must  be  found  with  every  one.  In  Jackson,  however,* 
those  defects  of  character  exist  to  an  extent  limited 
as  with  most  men ;  and  the  world  is  in  error  in  pre- 
suming him  under  a  too  high  control  of  feeling  and 
passion.  A  fixed  devotion  to  those  principles  which 
honour  sanctions,  peculiarly  attaches  to  him,  and  ren- 
ders him  scrupulously  attentive  to  his  promises  and 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  433 

engagements  of  every  description.  Preserving  sys- 
tem in  his  monied  transactions,  his  fiscal  arrangements 
are  made  to  correspond  with  his  resources,  and  hence 
his  every  engagement  in  relation  to  such  subjects,  is 
met  with  marked  punctuality,  not  for  the  reason  that 
he  is  a  man  of  extraordinary  wealth,  but  rather,  be- 
cause he  has  method,  and  with  a  view  to  his  re- 
sources, regulates  properly  his  balance  of  trade. 

No  man  has  been  more  misconceived  in  character. 
Many  on  becoming  acquainted  with  him  have  been  heard 
to  admit  the  previous  opinions  which  they  had  enter- 
tained, and  how  great  had  been  their  mistake.  Rough 
in  appearance — positive  and  overbearing  in  his  manner, 
are  what  all  upon  a  first  introduction  expect  to  find ; 
and  yet  none  are  possessed  of  milder  manner*,  or  of 
more  conciliating  address.  The  public  situations  in 
which  he  has  been  placed,  and  the  circumstances 
which  surrounded  him,  are  doubtless  the  cause  that 
those  opinions  have  become  so  prevalent ;  but  they 
are  opinions  which  an  acquaintance  with  him  tends 
speedily  to  remove.  The  difficulties  and  embarrass- 
ments under  which  he  laboured  at  New  Orleans,  were 
such  as  might  well  have  perplexed,  and  thrown  the 
mind  aside  from  every  thing  of  mildness.  Arms  and 
ammunition  were  wanted ;  the  country  was  in  an  un- 
prepared and  defenceless  situation :  whatever  could  be 
done  was  to  be  decided  on  promptly,  and  executed 
speedily.  Mutiny,  through  designing  men  was  intro- 
duced, and  disaffection  stalked  about.  Night  or  day  there 
was  no  respite  from  duties  of  the  most  important  and  re- 
sponsible kind ;  and  yet,  under  all  these  circumstances, 
embarrassing  as  they  were,  the  evidence  of  temper 

3i 


434  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  impropriety  charged  by  his  enemies,  to  use 
their  own  language,  is,  that  he  turned  the  legislature 
out  of  doors,  and  arrested  and  detained  one  of  its 
members,  with  the  judge  who  interposed  for  his  re- 
lief.* 

If  it  be  true,  that  his  principles  and  sentiments  on 
some  subjects,  be  at  variance  with  those  practiced 
upon,  and  deemed  correct  by  others,  it  is  the  effect 
of  education,  and  of  early  impressions  upon  his  mind, 
by  which  a  particular  bent  has  been  given  to  it.  Speak- 
ing one  day  of  his  mother,  he  observed,  "  one  of  the 
last  injunctions  given  me  by  her,  was  never  to  insti- 
tute a  suit  for  assault  and  battery,  or  for  defamation ; 
never  to  wound  the  feelings  of  others,  nor  suffer  my 
own  to  be  outraged;  these  were  her  words  of  admo- 
nition to  me ;  I  remember  them  well,  and  have  never 
failed  to  respect  them;  my  settled  course  through 
life  has  been,  to  bear  them  in  mind,  and  never  to  insult 
or  wantonly  to  assail  the  feelings  of  any  one ;  and  yet 
many  conceive  me  to  be  a  most  ferocious  animal,  insen- 
sible to  moral  duty,  and  regardless  of  the  laws  both  of 
God  and  man." 

Controlled  by  a  rule  so  golden,  as  always  to  respect 
the  feelings  of  others,  mankind  would  doubtless  sel- 
dom err;  and  seldom  would  disputes  and  differences 
in  society  arise.  It  is  a  misfortune,  however,  incident 
to  the  very  nature  of  man,  occasionally  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  excitement ;  and  then  error  of  conclu- 

*  See  the  circumstances  of  this  transaction  and  refutation  of  the 
charges  at  page  321. 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  435 

sion  may  be  the  consequence.  Wise  is  the  man,  pe- 
culiarly blest,  and  greatly  to  be  envied,  who,  in  every 
situation,  before 'he  acts,  can  deliberately  think,  and 
correctly -decide.  It  was  this  received  impression  re- 
specting general  Jackson,  which,  on  his  entering  the 
army,  induced  many  to  fear  he  would  prove  too  rash 
for  a  safe  commander;  that  occasions  might  arise, 
when  he  would  suffer  his  judgment  to  be  estranged, 
through  an  improper  exercise  of  feeling.  Events 
early  proved  the  fallacy  of  the  conjecture,  and  showed 
that  there  were  none  who  reasoned  more  dispassion- 
ately on  the  fitness  and  propriety  of  measures, — none 
more  cautious  were  caution  was  necessary,  or  mpre 
adventurous,  when  daring  efforts  were  required.  Few 
generals  had  ever  to  seek  for  order,  amidst  a  higher 
state  of  confusion,  or  obtained  success  through  more 
pressing  difficulties.  The  effects  he  produced,  under 
circumstances  gloomy  and  inauspicious — now  through 
his  eloquence  and  persuasion,  and  again  by  his  firm- 
ness, portrays  a  character  for  decision,  and  a  mind  in- 
timate and  familiar  with  human  nature.  That  the 
hireling  soldier, — the  mere  echo  of  his  superiors^ 
prodigal  of  life,  because  his  sovereign  orders  it,  should 
entertain  respect  for  his  commander,  is  too  commonly 
the  case  to  excite  surprise :  of  such  materials,  general 
Jackson's  army  was  not  composed ;  they  were  free- 
men,— citizens ;  yet,  with  the  exception  of  those  who 
abandoned  him  in  his  first  advance  against  the  Indians, 
there  was  scarcely  one  that  served  with  him,  officer, 
or  soldier,  that  was  not  particularly  and  warmly  attach- 
to  him ;  ready  to  serve  him  under  any  circumstances. 
The  best  evidence  of  private  worth,  and  private  cha- 
racter, is  to  be  derived  from  those  who  know  us  most 


436  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

intimately, — from  our  acquaintances  and  neigh  bours^ 
who  see  and  know  us,  stripped  of  that  concealment 
which  hangs  on  character  when  surveyed  at  a  dis- 
tance. Tested  by  this  rule,  general  Jackson  stands 
well,  for  by  those  who  know  him  most  intimately  he 
is  most  esteemed. 

Light  and  trifling  pleasantries  often  mark  character 
as  distinctly  as  things  of  consequence.  General  Jack- 
son one  day  during  the  siege  of  New  Orleans,  was 
approached  by  an  officer  of  the  militia,  who  stated  his 
desire  to  leave  the  service,  and  return  home ;  for  that 
he  was  made  game  of,  and  called  by  the  company 
Pewter  Foot.  He  manifested  great  concern,  and  an 
anxious  desire  to  be  relieved  from  his  unpleasant  situ- 
ation. The  general,  with  much  apparent  sympathy 
for  him,  replied,  that  he  had  ascertained  there  was  a 
practice  in  the  camp  of  giving  nick-names;  and  had 
understood  too,  that  very  many  had  dared  to  call  him 
Old  Hickory :  how,  said  he,  if  you  prefer  mine,  I  am 
willing  to  exchange;  if  not,  remain  contented,  and 
perform  your  duty  faithfully,  and  soon  as  we  can  get 
clear  of  those  troublesome  British,  our  wrongs  shall 
be  enquired  into  by  a  court-martial,  and  the  authors 
punished ;  for  then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  we  have 
an  end  of  those  insults.  The  effect  was  happy,  and 
induced  the  complaining  officer  to  retire,  perfectly 
satisfied  to  learn,  that  his  grievance  would  be  united 
with  the  general's,  and  both  ere  long  be  effectually  re- 
dressed. 

General  Jackson  possesses  ambition,  but  it  rests  on 
virtue;  an  ambition,  which,  regulated  by  a  high  sense 


LIFE  OF  GEKERAL  JACKSOX.  4,37 

of  honourable  feeling,  leads  him  to  desire  "  that  ap- 
plause which  follows  good  actions — not  that  which  is 
run  after."  No  man  is  more  ready  to  hear  and  to  re- 
spect the  opinions  of  others,  and  none  where  much  is 
at  stake,  and  at  conflict  with  his  own,  less  disposed  to 
be  under  their  influence.  He  has  never  been  known 
to  call  a  council  of  war,  whose  decisions,  when  made, 
were  to  shield  him  from  responsibility  or  censure, 
His  council  of  war,  if  doubting  himself,  was  a  few 
officers,  in  whom  he  fully  confided,  whose  advice  was 
regarded,  if  their  reasons  were  conclusive ;  but  these 
not  being  satisfactory,  he  at  once  adopted  and  pursued 
the  course  suggested  by  his  own  mind. 

Much  as  we  may  delight  to  range  through  the  field 
of  battle,  in  quest  of  acts,  to  fix  a  hero's  character,  yet 
inconsiderable  circumstances  oftentimes  mark  it  more 
distinctly :  it  is  then  that  the  mind,  retiring  from 
every  thing  like  motive,  gives  a  loose  to  impulse,  arid 
acts  from  feeling  alone.  The  general,  who  meets  and 
repels  his  country's  foes,  is  not  unfrequently  impelled 
by  ambition,  and  the  recollection  that  a  nation's  gra*-- 
titude  will  succeed  his  efforts  :  but  when,  amidst  the 
general  carnage,  he  is  seen  acting  as  a  Christian,  and 
sympathizing  in  others'  woes,  his  character  is  marked 
by  virtue,  and  more  truly  ennobled.  At  the  battle  of 
Tohopeka,  an  infant  was  found,  pressed  to  the  bosom 
of  its  lifeless  mother.  This  circumstance  being  made 
known  to  general  Jackson,  he  became  interested  for 
the  child,  directed  it  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  sought 
to  prevail  on  some  of  the  Indian  women  to  take  care 
of  and  rear  it.  They  signified  their  unwillingness  to 
do  so,  stating  that,  inasmuch  as  all  its  relations  had 


438  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

fallen  in  battle,  they  thought  it  best,  and  would  prefer, 
it  should  be  killed.  The  general,  after  this  disclosure, 
determined  he  would  not  entrust  it  with  them,  but  be~ 
came  himself  the  protector  and  guardian  of  the  child. 
Bestowing  on  the  infant  the  name  of  Lincoier,  he 
adopted  it  into  his  family,  and  has  ever  since  manifest- 
ed the  liveliest  zeal  towards  it,  prompted  by  benev- 
olence, and  because,  perhaps,  its  fate  bore  a  strong 
resemblance  to  his  own,  who,  in  early  life,  and  from 
the  ravages  of  war,  was  left  in  the  world,  forlorn  and 
wretched,  without  friends  to  assist,  or  near  relations 
to  direct  him  on  his  course. 

Of  the  two  great  parties,  which  have  distracted  our 
country,  general  Jackson  is  attached  to  the  republican. 
In  his  first  political  career,  he  rallied  on  the  side  of 
the  people.  During  Mr.  Adams'  administration,  when 
the  party  was  few  and  inconsiderable,  he  appeared  on 
the  side  of  the  rights  of  man,  espousing  and  advocat- 
ing the  principles  of  tolerance  and  free  will ;  until  dis- 
gusted with  the  mode  of  administering  the  govern- 
ment, he  retired  from  the  legislative  councils  of  the 
nation.  He  is  not,  however,  one  of  those  blind  infatu- 
ated partizans,  who  holds  the  opinions  of  others  in 
derision,  and  determines  on  the  good  or  bad  qualities 
of  a  man,  according  as  he  belongs  to  this  or  the  other 
political  sect;  but,  influenced  by  higher  and  nobler 
sentiments,  acts  on  the  liberal  principle,  that 

"  Honour  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honour  lies — 
Worth  makes  the  man,  and  want  of  it  the  fellow."* 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON.  43$ 

Could  such  sentiments  be  generally  diffused,  of 
what  importance  would  they  not  prove  to  our  country! 
We  are  aware  of  the  opinion  entertained  by  many 
wise  politicians,  that  parties,  by  acting  as  spies  on,  and 
correctors  of,  each  other's  conduct,  more  effectually 
ensure  a  nation's  safety.  Such  an  idea  may  answer  in 
a  country  where  individuals'  rights  are  merged  in  the 
exaltation  of  a  few,  and  where  the  contest  is  for  the 
loaves  and  fishes,  and  not  in  relation  to  honest  difference 
in  opinion :  but  in  ours,  whose  government  is  derived 
from  the  people,  and  where  law  is  the  paramount  rule, 
so  long  as  we  shall  continue  virtuous  anil  intelligent, 
and  duly  appreciate  our  rights,  no  such  auxiliary  can 
be  essential,  either  for  happiness  or  tranquillity.  Al- 
ready have  we  witnessed  innumerable  evils  to  spring 
from  the  acerbity  and  intemperance  of  party  :  but  for 
the  hopes  and  expectations  of  a  designing  power, 
which  through  our  dissentions  and  domestic  broils,  be- 
lieved she  would  be  able  seriously  to  affect  us,  we 
might  have  remained  at  peace,  and  preserved  the  lives 
of  many  a  valuable  citizen.  That  there  should  be  a 
contrariety  of  opinion  among  us,  is  certainly  nothing 
remarkable  :  it  is  only  in  governments  absolutely  des- 
potic, that  oppressed  and  trembling  subjects  imbibe 
the  sentiments  of  the  sovereign  and  his  ministers,  and 
appear  to  think  with  them,  for  the  reason  that  they 
dare  not  assert  their  own  opinions.  Our  constitution, 
on  this  subject,  bars  every  check,  arid  leaves  our  con- 
duct, words,  and  actions,  free  ;  yet,  were  our  prudence 
consulted  and  regarded,  it  would  long  since  have 
told  us,  that  party  rancour  was  carried  much  too  far. 
both  for  our  own  and  the  honour  of  our  country.  We 
are  far,  however,  from  assenting  to  what  is  often  urged. 


440  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

that  it  is  a  circumstance  whence  foreign  powers  will 
be  ever  able  to  derive  an  advantage,  by  which  mate- 
rially to  endanger  our  rights.  Although  we  may,  and 
do  differ,  as  to  the  best  mode  of  administering  the  gov- 
ernment, a  circumstance  which  happens  to  all  countries 
in  proportion  as  liberty  is  enjoyed ;  and  although,  as  has 
been  the  case,  party  spirit  may  be  carried  beyond  the 
bounds  where  reason  or  prudence  should  give  sanc- 
tion, yet  against  the  invaders  of  our  rights,  our  union 
will  prove  strong,  and  all  parties  be  the  same.  Should 
the  period  ever  arrive,  when  our  nation  shall  be  vitally 
assailed,  it  will  be  perceived  that  all  advantages  calcu- 
lated to  arise  from  our  jarrings  are  delusive;  that 
then  there  will  be  but  one  party,  all  rallied  in  defence 
of  a  country  believed  by  them  to  be  the  freest  and 
happiest  in  the  world,  resolved  to  swim  or  sink  together* 
It  is  very  true,  that  the  history  of  the  late  war  presents 
some  melancholy  facts,  at  variance  with  this  opinion ; 
but  such  has  been  the  odium  and  just  indignation  of 
the  country  towards  its  actors,  that  any  future  recur- 
rence of  such  acts  should  not  be  anticipated.  Involved 
in  war,  every  citizen  of  the  country  is  bound  in  some 
form  or  other,  to  yield  assistance,  and  steadily  to  main- 
tain it ;  and  that  man,  or  combination  of  men,  who,  in 
such  a  time  of  peril,  shall  stand  opposed  to  the  consti- 
tuted authorities,  in  any  other  manner  than  the  con- 
stitution authorizes,  should  be  considered,  if  not  the 
enemy,  at  least,  not  the  friend  of  the  country. 

The  proclamations  disseminated  by  Great  Britain 
during  the  war,  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
were  an  insult  to  our  understandings,  and  a  reflection 
on  her  *>wn.  The  divisions  she  saw  prevailing  among 


LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON,  441 

us,  were,  no  doubt,  the  inducement.  If  ever  there  was 
a  time,  when  she  could  have  even  partially  effected  the 
disorganization  she  so  industriously  endeavoured  to 
foment,  and  reached  us  through  our  differences,  it  was 
before  she  had,  by  an  unusual,  unpractised  system  of 
warfare,  destroyed  all  confidence,  and  excited  our  just 
indignation  against  her ;  and  before  she  had  so  effectu- 
ally aided  to  subvert  the  liberty  of  France,  and  plunge 
her  in  a  state  of  absolute  vassalage,  when,  throughout, 
the  professed  and  openly  avowed  object  was  to  rescue 
from  oppression,  and  make  her  "  free  indeed. w  When 
such  an  example,  with  all  its  wretched  and  fatal  con- 
sequences, is  held  up  to  view,  well  should  a  warning 
voice  teach  nations  to  spurn  every  external  interfere 
ence,  however  plausibly  it  may  be  offered* 

The  principles  of  our  government  are  at  opposition 
with  war — those  of  her  citizens  no  less  so.  If,  amidst 
the  general  confusion  of  the  world,  we  have  been 
forced  into  a  struggle,  let  it  be  remembered,  it  was 
for  the  preservation  of  our  rights,  and  to  resist  ag- 
gressions which  had  become  too  numerous  and  griev- 
ous to  be  longer  borne.  With  nations,  as  with  indi- 
viduals, a  submission  to  insult  serves  but  to  authorize 
a  repetition;  and  forbearance  under  injuries  is  fre- 
quently construed  into  an  inability  to  redress  them, 
We  boast  not  of  any  thing  acquired  by  our  contest. 
Conquest  and  power  were  not  the  inducements  to  its 
commencement :  what  was  sought  has  been  attained. 
We  have  evinced  a  determination  not  to  submit  to  re- 
peated wrongs,  and  secured  from  other  nations  that 
respect  which  our  peaceful  habits  had  forfeited.  We 
have  brought  more  closely  into  view  our  own  strength, 

3K 


442  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

and  our  own  resources ;  and  shown  our  enemies,  that, 
however  we  may  be  solicitous  for  peace,  and  opposed 
to  war,  there  is  a  point  where  even  patience  ceases 
to  be  a  virtue,  and  where  it  may  become  exhausted. 
But,  above  all,  our  contest  has  had  the  effect  of  draw- 
ing closer  the  cords  of  our  union, — quieting  party  op- 
position, and  allaying  discontents.  In  future,  there- 
fore, when  we  shall  be  told  we  have  gained  nothing 
by  the  war,  laying  aside  all  minor  considerations,  we 
will  point  to  our  union,  which  it  has  more  strongly 
and  indissolubly  cemented,  as  a  matter  of  greater  im- 
portance than  any  thing  that  has  happened,  since  the 
all-glorious  hour  when  our  Independence  was  de- 
clared. 

u  Patriots  have  toiled,  and  in  their  country's  cause, 
Bled  nobly ;  and  their  deeds  as  they  deserve 
Receive  proud  recompense.     We  give  in  charge, 
Their  names,  to  the  sweet  lyre.     The  historic  muse, 
Proud  of  her  treasure,  marches  with  it  down 
To  latest  times ;  and  sculpture  in  her  turn 
Gives  bond,  in  stone,  and  ever  during  brass, 
To  guard  them,  and  immortalize  her  trust." 


THE    END. 


NOTES. 

(A) 

Proclamation  of  colonel  Nicholls  to  the  southern  and  western  inhabitants. 

NATIVES  of  Louisiana !  on  you  the  first  call  is  made,  to  assist  in 
liberating  from  a  faithless,  imbecile  government,  your  paternal  soil : 
Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  Italians,  and  British,  whether  settled,  or  resid- 
ing for  a  time  in  Louisiana,  on  you,  also,  I  call,  to  aid  me  in  this  just 
cause :  the  American  usurpation  in  this  country  must  be  abolished,  and 
the  lawful  owners  of  the  soil  put  in  possession.  I  am  at  the  head  of 
a  large  body  of  Indians,  well  armed,  disciplined,  and  commanded  by 
British  officers — a  good  train  of  artillery,  with  every  requisite,  se- 
conded by  the  powerful  aid  of  a  numerous  British  and  Spanish  squad- 
ron of  ships  and  vessels  of  war.  Be  not  alarmed,  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  at  our  approach ;  the  same  good  faith  and  disinterestedness, 
which  has  distinguished  the  conduct  of  Britons  in  Europe,  accompa- 
nies them  here ;  you  will  have  no  fear  of  litigious  taxes  imposed  on 
you  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  an  unnatural  and  unjust  war ;  your 
property,  your  laws,  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  your  country,  will 
be  guaranteed  to  you  by  men  who  will  suffer  no  infringement  of 
theirs;  rest  assured  that  these  brave  red  men  only  burn  with  an  ar- 
dent desire  of  satisfaction  for  the  wrongs  they  have  suffered  from  the 
Americans ;  to  join  you  in  liberating  these  southern  provinces  from 
their  yoke,  and  drive  them  into  those  limits  formerly  prescribed  by 
my  sovereign.  The  Indians  have  pledged  themselves,  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  not  to  injure,  in  the  slightest  degree,  the  persons  or 
properties  of  any  but  enemies.  A  flag  over  any  door,  whether  Span- 
ish, French,  or  British,  will  be  a  certain  protection ;  nor  dare  any  In- 
dian put  his  foot  on  the  threshold  thereof,  under  penalty  of  death  from 
his  own  countrymen ;  not  even  an  enemy  will  an  Indian  put  to  death, 
except  resisting  in  arms;  and  as  for  injuring  helpless  women  and  chil- 
.  tlren,  the  red  men,  by  their  good  conduct,  and  treatment  to  them, 


444 

will  (if  it  be  possible,)  make  the  Americans  blush  for  their  more 
inhuman  conduct,  lately  on  the  Escambia,  and  within  a  neutral  ter 
ritory. 

Inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  you  have  too  long  borne  with  grievous 
impositions — the  whole  brunt  of  the  war  has  fallen  on  your  brave 
sons;  be  imposed  on  no  longer,  but  either  range  yourselves  under  the 
Standard  of  your  forefathers,  or  observe  a  strict  neutrality.  If  you 
comply  with  either  of  these  offers,  whatever  provisions  you  send 
down,  will  be  paid  for  in  dollars,  and  the  safety  of  the  persons  bring- 
ing it,  as  well  as  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  guaranteed  to 
you. 

Men  of  Kentucky,  let  me  call  to  your  view,  (and  I  trust  to  youi* 
abhorrence)  the  conduct  of  those  factions  which  hurried  you  int6 
this  civil,  unjust,  and  unnatural  war,  at  a  time  when  Great  Britain  was 
straining  every  nerve,  in  defence  of  her  own,  and  the  liberties  of  the 
world — when  the  bravest  of  her  sons  were  fighting  and  bleeding  in 
so  sacred  a  cause — when  she  was  spending  millions  of  her  treasure 
in  endeavouring  to  pull  down  one  of  the  most  formidable  and  danger- 
ous tyrants  that  ever  disgraced  the  form  of  man — when  groaning  Eu- 
rope was  almost  in  her  last  gasp- — when  Britons  alone  showed  an  un- 
daunted front— basely  did  those  assassins  endeavour  to  stab  her  from 
the  rear ;  she  has  turned  on  them,  renovated  from  the  bloody,  but 
successful  struggle — Europe  is  happy  and  free,  and  she  now  hastens^ 
justly,  to  avenge  the  unprovoked  insult.  Show  them  that  you  are 
not  collectively  unjust:  leave  that  contemptible  few  to  shift  for  them- 
selves :  let  those  slaves  of  the  tyrant  send  an  embassy  to  Elba,  and 
implore  his  aid ;  but  let  every  honest,  upright  American  spurn  them 
with  united  contempt.  After  the  experience  of  twenty-one  years,  can 
you  longer  support  those  brawlers  for  liberty,  who  call  it  freedom, 
when  themselves  are  free  ?  Be  no  longer  their  dupes— accept  of  my 
offers — every  thing  1  have  promised  in  this  paper,  I  guarantee  to  you, 
on  the  sacred  honour  of  a  British  officer. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  my  head-quarters, 
Pensacola,  this  29th  day  of  August,  1814, 

EDWARD  NICHOLLS 


NOTES*  445 

(B) 

Letter  to  commodore  Daniel  T.  Patterson. 

PENSACOLA,  4th  December,  1814. 

SIR— 1  feel  it  a  duty  to  apprize  you  of  a  very  large  force  of  the 
enemy  off  this  port,  and  it  is  generally  understood  New  Orleans  is 
the  object  of  attack.  It  amounts,  at  present,  to  about  eighty  vessels, 
and  more  than  double  that  number  are  momentarily  looked  for,  to 
form  a  junction ;  when  an  immediate  commencement  of  their  opera- 
tions will  take  place.  I  am  not  able  to  learn,  how,  when,  or  where 
the  attack  will  be  made ;  but  I  understand  that  they  have  vessels  of 
all  descriptions,  and  a  large  body  of  troops.  Admiral  Cochrane  com- 
mands ;  and  his  ship,  the  Tonnant,  lies,  at  this  moment,  just  outside 
the  bar.  They  certainly  appear  to  have  swept  the  West  Indies  of 
troops,  and  probably  no  means  will  be  left  untried  to  obtain  their  ob- 
ject, The  admiral  arrived  only  yesterday  noon. 

I  am  yours^  &c. 


Letter  from  Charles  K.  Blanchard  to  general  Jac&sdn, 

NEW  ORLEANS,  March  20,  1814, 

StR — I  have  the  honour,  agreeably  to  your  request,  to  state  to  your 
excellency,  in  writing,  the  substance  of  a  conversation  that  occurred 
between  quarter-master  Peddie,  of  the  British  army,  and  myself,  on 
the  1 1th  instant,  on  board  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Herald,  Quar- 
ter-master Peddie  observed,  that  the  commanding  officers  of  the  Bri- 
tish forces  were  daily  in  the  receipt  of  every  information  from  the 
city  of  New  Orleans,  which  they  might  require,  in  aid  of  their  ope- 
rations, for  the  completion  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition ; — that  they 
were  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  every  part  of  our 


446  NOTES. 

forces,  the  manner  in  which  the  same  was  situated,  the  number  of  our 
fortifications,  their  strength,  position,  &c.  As  to  the  battery  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  he  described  its  situation,  its  distance  from 
the  main  post,  and  promptly  offered  me  a  plan  of  the  works.  He 
furthermore  stated,  that  the  above  information  was  received  from 
seven  or  eight  persons,  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  from  whom  he 
could,  at  any  hour,  procure  every  information  necessary  to  promote 
his  majesty's  interest. 


Address  of  major-general  Jackson,  on  the  8th  of  January,  to  the  troops  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river. 

While,  by  the  blessing  of  heaven,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  victo- 
ries was  obtained  by  the  troops  under  my  immediate  command,  no 
words  can  express  the  mortification  I  felt,  at  witnessing  the  scene  ex- 
hibited on  the  opposite  bank.  I  will  spare  your  feelings  and  my  own, 
nor  enter  into  detail  on  the  subject.  To  all  who  reflect,  it  must  be  a 
source  of  eternal  regret,  that  a  few  moments'  exertion  of  that  courage 
you  certainly  possess,  was  alone  wanting  to  have  rendered  your  success 
more  complete  than  that  of  your  fellow-citizens  in  this  camp.  To 
what  cause  was  the  abandonment  of  your  lines  owing?  To  fear  ?  No ! 
You  are  the  countrymen,  the  friends,  the  brothers  of  those  who  have 
secured  to  themselves,  by  their  courage,  the  gratitude  of  their  coun- 
try ;  who  have  been  prodigal  of  their  blood  in  its  defence,  and  who 
are  strangers  to  any  other  fear  than  disgrace — to  disaffection  to  our 
glorious  cause.  No,  my  countrymen,  your  general  does  justice  to 
the  pure  sentiments  by  which  you  are  inspired.  How  then  could 
brave  men,  firm  in  the  cause  in  which  they  were  enrolled,  neglect 
their  first  duty,  and  abandon  the  post  committed  to  their  care  ?  The 
want  of  discipline,  the  want  of  order,  a  total  disregard  to  obedience, 
and  a  spirit  of  insubordination,  not  less  destructive  than  cowardice  it- 
self, are  the  causes  which  led  to  this  disaster,  and  they  must  be  eradi- 
cated, or  I  must  cease  to  command.  I  desire  to  be  distinctly  un- 
derstood, that  every  breach  of  orders,  all  want  of  discipline,  every 
inattention  of  duty,  will  be  seriously  and  promptly  punished ;  that  the 
attentive  officers,  and  good  soldiers,  may  not  be  mentioned  in  the  dte- 


NOTES.  447 

grace  and  danger  which  the  negligence  of  a  few  may  produce.  Sol- 
diers !  you  want  only  the  will,  in  order  to  emulate  the  glory  of  your 
fellow-citizens  on  this  bank  of  the  river — you  have  the  same  motives 
for  action ;  the  same  interest,  the  same  country  to  protect ;  and  you 
have  an  additional  interest,  from  past  events,  to  wipe  off  reproach,  and 
show  that  you  will  not  be  inferior,  in  the  day  of  trial,  to  any  of  your 
countrymen. 

But  remember !  without  obedience,  without  order,  without  disci- 
pline, all  your  efforts  are  vain.  The  brave  man,  inattentive  to  his 
duty,  is  worth  little  more  to  his  country  than  the  coward  who  deserts 
her  in  the  hour  of  danger.  Private  opinions,  as  to  the  competency 
of  officers,  must  not  be  indulged,  and  still  less  expressed ;  it  is  impos- 
sible that  the  measures  of  those  who  command  should  satisfy  all  who 
are  bound  to  obey ;  and  one  of  the  most  dangerous  faults  in  a  soldier, 
is  a  disposition  to  criticise  and  blame  the  orders  and  characters  of  his 
superiors.  Soldiers !  I  know  that  many  of  you  have  done  your  duty ; 
and  I  trust,  in  future,  I  shall  have  no  reason  to  make  any  exception. 
Officers !  I  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  you  will  enforce  obe- 
dience to  your  commands ;  but,  above  all,  that  by  subordination  in 
your  different  grades,  you  will  set  an  example  to  your  men  ;  and  that, 
hereafter,  the  army  of  the  right  will  yield  to  none  in  the  essential 
qualities  which  characterize  good  soldiers; — that  they  will  earn  their 
share  of  those  honours  and  rewards  which  their  country  will  prepare 
for  its  deliverers. 

ANDREW  JACKSON, 

Major-General  commanding. 


(E) 

Address  delivered  to  major-general  Andrew  Jackson,  by  the  reverend  \V* 
Dubourg)  administrator  apostolic  of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana. 

GENERAL, — While  the  state  of  Louisiana,  in  the  joyful  transports  of 
her  gratitude,  hails  you  as  her  deliverer,  and  the  asserter  of  her 
menaced  liberties — while  grateful  America,  so  lately  wrapped  up  jii 


NOTES. 

V  \. 

anxious  suspense,  on  the  fate  of  this  important  city,  is  re-echoing  from 

shore  to  shore  your  splendid  achievements,  and  preparing  to  inscribe 
your  name  on  her  immortal  rolls,  among  those  of  her  Washing-tons — 
while  history,  poetry,  and  the  monumental  arts,  will  vie  in  consigning 
to  the  admiration  of  the  latest  posterity,  a  triumph  perhaps  unparal- 
leled in  their  records — while  thus  raised,  by  universal  acclamation, 
to  the  very  pinnacle  of  fame,  how  easy  had  it  been  for  you,  general, 
to  forget  the  Prime  Mover  of  your  wonderful  successes,  and  to  as- 
sume to  yourself  a  praise,  which  must  essentially  return  to  that  ex-* 
alted  source  whence  every  merit  is  derived.  But,  better  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  true  glory,  and  justly  placing  the  summit  of  your 
ambition,  in  approving  yourself  the  worthy  instrument  of  Heaven^s 
merciful  designs,  the  first  impulse  of  your  religious  heart  was  to  ac- 
knowledge the  signal  interposition  of  Providence — your  first  step,  a, 
solemn  display  of  your  humble  sense  of  His  favours* 

Still  agitated  at  the  remembrance  of  those  dreadful  agonies,  from 
which  we  have  been  so  miraculously  rescued,  it  is  our  pride  to  ac- 
knowledge, that  the  Almighty  has  truly  had  the  principal  hand  in  our 
deliverance,  and  to  follow  you,  general,  in  attributing  to  his  infinite 
goodness,  the  homage  of  our  unfeigned  gratitude.  Let  the  infatuated 
votary  of  a  blind  chance  deride  our  credulous  simplicity ;  let  the  cold- 
hearted  Atheist  look  for  the  explanation  of  important  events  to  the 
mere  concatenation  of  human  causes :  to  us,  the  whole  universe  is 
loud  in  proclaiming  a  Supreme  Ruler,  who,  as  he  holds  the  hearts  of 
men  in  his  hands,  holds  also  the  thread  of  all  contingent  occurrences. 
"  Whatever  be  His  intermediate  agents,"  says  an  illustrious  prelate, 
"  still  on  the  secret  orders  of  His  all-ruling  providence,  depend  the 
rise  and  prosperity,  as  well  as  the  decline  and  downfal  of  empires. 
From  His  lofty  throne,  he  moves  every  scene  below,  now  curbing, 
now  letting  loose,  the  passions  of  men ;  now  infusing  His  own  wisdom 
into  the  leaders  of  nations ;  now  confounding  their  boasted  prudence, 
and  spreading  upon  their  councils  a  spirit  of  intoxication ;  and  thus 
executing  His  uncontrollable  judgments  on  the  sons  of  men,  according 
to  the  dictates  of  His  own  unerring  justice." 

To  Him,  therefore,  our  most  fervent  thanks  are  due,  for  our  late 
unexpected  rescue.  It  is  Him  we  intend  to  praise,  when  considering 
you,  general,  as  the  man  of  his  right  hand,  whom  he  has  taken  pains 
to  fit  out  for  the  important  commission  of  our  defence.  We  extol 


VOTES,  449 

that  fecundity  of  genius,  by  which,  under  the  most  discouraging  dis- 
tress, you  created  unforeseen  resources,  raised,  as  it  were,  from  the 
ground,  hosts  of  intrepid  warriors,  and  provided  every  vulnerable 
point  with  ample  means  of  defence.  To  Him  we  trace  that  instinc- 
tive superiority  of  your  mind,  which  at  once  rallied  around  you  uni* 
versal  confidence;  impressed  one  irresistible  movement  to  all  the 
jarring  elements  of  which  this  political  machine  is  composed ;  aroused 
their  slumbering  spirits,  and  diffused  through  every  rank,  the  noble 
ardour  which  glowed  in  your  own  bosom.  To  Htm,  in  fine,  we  ad- 
dress our  acknowledgments  for  that  consummate  prudence  which 
defeated  all  the  combinations  of  a  sagacious  enemy,  entangled  him  in 
the  very  snares  which  he  had  spread  for  us,  and  succeeded  in  effect- 
ing his  utter  destruction,  without  exposing  the  lives  of  our  citizens. 
Immortal  thanks  be  to  His  Supreme  Majesty,  for  sending  us  such  an 
instrument  of  His  bountiful  designs  !l  A  gift  of  that  value  is  the  best 
token  of  the  continuance  of  His  protection — the  most  solid  encourage- 
ment to  sue  for  new  favours.  The  first  which  it  emboldens  us  humbly 
to  supplicate,  as  nearest  our  throbbing  hearts,  is,  that  you  may  long 
enjoy  the  honour  of  your  grateful  country ;  of  which  you  will  permit 
us  to  present  you  a  pledge,  in  this  wreath  of  laurel,  the  prize  of  vic- 
tory, the  symbol  of  immortality.  The  next  is  a  speedy  and  honourable 
termination  of  the  bloody  contest  in  which  we  are  engaged.  No  one 
Jias  so  efficaciously  laboured  as  you,  general,  for  the  acceleration  of 
that  blissful  period ;  may  we  soon  reap  that  sweetest  fruit  of  your 
splendid  and  uninterrupted  victories. 


General  Jackson's  Reply. 

REVEREND  SIR, — I  receive,  with  gratitude  and  pleasure,  the  sym- 
bolical crown  which  piety  has  prepared.  I  receive  it  in  the  name 
of  the  brave'  men  who  have  so  effectually  seconded  my  exertions ; — 
they  well  deserve  the  laurels  which  their  country  will  bestow. 

For  myself,  to  have  been  instrumental  in  the  deliverance  of  such  a 
country,  is  the  greatest  blessing  that  heaven  could  confer.  That  it 
has  been  effected  with  so  little  loss — that  so  few  tears  should  cloud 
the  smiles  of  our  triumph,  and  not  a  cypress  leaf  be  interwoven  in 

SL 


450  NOTES. 

the  wreath  which  you  present,  is  a  source  of  the  most  exquisite 
pleasure. 

I  thank  you,  reverend  sir,  most  sincerely,  for  the  prayers  which 
you  offer  up  for  my  happiness.  May  those  your  patriotism  dictates, 
for  our  beloved  country,  be  first  heard :  and  may  mine,  for  your  in- 
dividual prosperity,  as  well  as  that  of  the  congregation  committed  to 
your  care,  be  favourably  received — the  prosperity,  wealth,  and  hap- 
piness of  this  city,  will  then  be  commensurate  with  the  courage  and 
other  qualities  of  its  inhabitants. 


Answer  submitted  by  major-general  Jackson,  on  a  rule  to  show  cause  why 
an  attachment  for  contempt  should  not  issue  against  him. 

This  respondent  has  received  a  paper,  purporting  to  be  the  copy 
of  a  rule  of  the  district  court  of  the  United  States  for  Louisiana,  in  a 
suit  entitled  "  The  United  States  vs.  A.  Jackson ;  commanding  him  to 
show  cause  why  an  attachment  should  not  issue  against  himy  for  divert 
alleged  contempts  of  the  said  court."  Before  he  makes  any  answer 
whatever  to  the  said  charges,  he  deems  it  necessary  to  protest,  and 
he  does  hereby  protest  against,  and  reserve  to  himself  all  manner  of 
benefit  of  exception  to,  the  illegal,  unconstitutional,  and  informal  na- 
ture of  the  proceedings  instituted  against  him ;  it  appearing,  by  the 
said  proceeding — 

I.  That  witnesses  have  been  summoned  by  process  of  subpoena,  hi 
a  suit  or  prosecution  of  the  United  States  against  him,  when  in  fact, 
in  truth  there  was  not  then  any  such  suit  or  prosecution  legally  pend- 
ing in  said  court 

II.  That  the  said  rule  was  obtained  at  the  instance  of  the  attorney 
of  the  United  States,  for  the  district  of  Louisiana,  who  had  no  right 
officially  to  ask  for  or  obtain  it;  the  duties  of  the  attorney  being,  by 
law,  restricted  to  the  prosecution  of  "  all  delinquents  for  crimes  and 
offences,  cognizable  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
civil  actions  in  which  they  shall  be  concerned."    As  this  proceeding 


NOTES.  45 1 

is  not  pretended  to  be  a  civil  action,  to  bring  it  within  the  purview  of 
the  duties  of  the  attorney,  it  must  be  a  prosecution  for  a  crime  or  of- 
fence, cognizable  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States.  But  the 
facts  stated  in  the  rule  do  not  constitute  any  "  crime  or  offence,  cog- 
nizable under  this  authority."  The  courts  of  the  United  States  have 
no  common  law  jurisdiction  of  crimes  or  offences ;  if,  therefore,  the 
facts  stated  in  the  rule  are  not  made  such  by  statute,  they  are  not 
cognizable  by  the  courts :  but  the  statutes  have  been  searched,  and 
no  such  provision  can  be  found ;  therefore,  the  facts  charged  are  not 
offences  which  are  either  cognizable  by  this  court,  or  liable  to  be 
prosecuted  by  the  attorney  for  the  United  States. 

III.  That  if  this  be  a  prosecution  for  a  crime  or  offence  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  the  mode  of  proceeding  is  both  un- 
constitutional and  illegal:  the  7th  and  8th  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion  contain  many  provisions  directly  contrary  to  the  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding by  attachment,  for  contempt ;  particularly  the  7th  amendment, 
that  no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 
due  process  of  law ;  and  of  the  8th,  that,  in  all  criminal  prosecutions, 
the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  of  a  speedy  trial,  by  an  impartial 
jury ;  and  in  the  32d  section  of  the  law  for  punishing  certain  crimes 
against  the  United  States,  is  contained  a  conclusive  implication,  if  not 
an  express  provision,  that  no  offence  can  be  prosecuted,  except  by 
information  or  indictment ;  neither  of  which  have  been  filed,  in  this 
instance.     The  respondent,  therefore,  concludes  those  heads  of  ex- 
ceptions, by  the  dilemma,  that,  if  the  proceeding  be  a  prosecution  for 
a  crime  or  offence,  cognizable  by  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  both  unconstitutional  and  illegal  in  its  present  form ;  and  if  it  be  not 
such  a  prosecution,  then  has  the  attorney  of  the  United  States  no  right 
to  institute  it ;  his  ministry  by  law  extending  only  to  them. 

IV.  That  this  court  has  no  right  to  issue  an  attachment  for  any  con- 
tempt whatever;  or  to  punish  the  same,  in  any  other  cases  than  those 
prescribed  by  the   17th  section  of  the  judiciary  act,  which  confines 
such  authority  to  the  punishment,  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  for  con- 
tempt in  any  cause  or  hearing  before  the  same — whereas,  by  the  rule, 
nor  the  affidavits,  does  it  appear,  that  the  alleged  contempts  were 
offered  in  any  cause  or  hearing  before  the  said  District  Court;  on  the 
contrary,  all  the  acts  complained  of  as  contempts,  are  stated  to  have 
been  done  in  relation  to  an  ex-parte  application  made  to  the  judge  o£ 


452  NOTES. 

the  said  court,  at  his  chambers,  at  a  time  when  his  court  was  in  vaca- 
tion, and  not  in  a  cause  or  hearing  before  the  court. 

V.  That  no  attachment  ought  to  issue,  for  neglecting  or  refusing  a 
"return  to  a  habeas  corpus,  issued  and  returnable  out  of  court:  the 

statutes  on  that  subject,  both  in  England  and  in  the  United  States, 
wherever  they  have  been  re-enacted,  contain  express  penalties  for 
this  offence ;  doubtless  for  the  reason  that  such  neglect  or  refusal,  in 
relation  to  an  act  done,  not  in  a  cause  or  hearing  pending  in  court,  but 
in  an  ex-parte  proceeding  at  a  judge's  chambers,  could  not  be  punish- 
ed, by  attachment,  as  a  contempt. 

VI.  That  no  act  in  relation  to  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  or  the  al- 
lowance of  the  same,  in  the  case  mentioned  in  the  said  rule,  can  be 
considered  as  a  contempt ;  because  the  judge  of  this  honourable  court, 
by  the  14th  section  of  the  judiciary  act  of  the  United  States,  is  ex- 
pressly inhibited  from  issuing  any  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  except  in 
cases  of  prisoners  u  in  custody,  under,  or  by  colour  of  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  or  committed  for  trial  before  some  court  of  the 
same ;  or  who  are  necessary  to  be  brought  into  court  to  testify ;  nei- 
ther of  which  circumstances  appear  either  in  the  writ,  the  allowance 
of  the  same,  or  the  affidavit  on  which  it  was  founded.      This  court, 
then,  having  no  jurisdiction  of  the  case,  according  to  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  this  respondent  had  a  right  to 
consider  the  service  as  a  trespass. 

VII.  That,  by  the  said  writ,  no  place  was  designated  at  which  the 
same  should  be  returned. 

VIH.  That  the  writ  was  served  on  the  respondent,  long  after  the 
return  thereof,  by  reason  whereof  he  could  not  have  complied  with 
the  tenor,  had  he  been  so  disposed. 

IX.  The  said  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  issued  in  an  irregular  man- 
ner, and  the  respondent  was  in  no  wise  compelled  by  law  to  obey  it; 
inasmuch  as  the  name  of  the  judge,  allowing  the  same,  was  not  signed 
on  the  writ  with  his  proper  hand  writing :  nor  were  the  words,  "  ac- 
cording to  the  form  of  the  statute,"  marked  thereon — both  which  are 
positively  required,  by  the  statutes  regulating  the  issuing  of  such  pro- 
cess ;  and  without  which  they  need  not  be  obeyed.  Should  it  be  ob- 


NOTE.&,  453 

Jiccted,  that  the  English  statutes  are  not  binding  here,  it  is  answered 
that  the  United  States  are  without  a  statutory  provision  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  that  the  introduction  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  generally, 
must  introduce  it,  as  it  stood  at  the  time  of  making  the  constitution. 

X.  That  if  the  allowance  on  the  back  of  the  affidavit,  contrary  to 
the  express  words  of  the  statute,  be  deemed  sufficient,  yet  the  re- 
spondent was  not  bound  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  because  the  same  was  not  issued  in  conformity  with  the  al- 
lowance given  on  the  fifth  day  of  March ;  this  was  for  a  writ  returnable 
on  the  next  day,  and  afterwards  altered,  so  as  to  bear  date  on  the 
sixth  of  the  same  month,  returnable  on  the  succeeding  morning,  which 
would  have  been  the  7th ;  whereas  the  writ  actually  issued,  bore  date 
the  6th,  and  was  returnable  the  same  day — thus  varying  materially 
from  the  allowance.  This  circumstance  is  an  excellent  illustration  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  statutory  provision,  which  requires  that  the  writ  it- 
self  be  signed  by  the  judge. 

Under  all  which  protestations  and  exceptions  ; — without  submitting 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  said  court,  or  acknowledging  the  regularity 
of  the  proceedings,  but  expressly  denying  the  same — This  respon- 
dent, in  order  to  give  a  fair  and  true  exposition  of  his  conduct,  on 
every  occasion  in  which  it  may  be  drawn  into  question — 

Saith — 

That  previously  to,  and  soon  after,  his  arrival  in  this  section  of  the 
seventh  military  district,  he  received  several  letters  and  communica- 
tions, putting  him  on  his  guard  against  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  state,  the  legislature,  and  foreign  emissaries  in  the  city.  The 
population  of  the  country  was  represented  as  divided  by  political 
parties  and  national  prejudices ;  a  great  portion  of  them  attached  to 
foreign  powers  and  disaffected  to  the  government  of  their  own  country, 
and  some,  as  totally  unworthy  of  confidence.  The  militia  was  de- 
scribed as  resisting  the  authority  of  their  commander-in-chief,  and  en- 
couraged in  their  disobedience  by  the  legislature  of  the  state.  That 
legislature  characterized  as  politically  rotten,  and  the  whole  state  in 
such  a  situation  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  look  for  defence  princi- 
pally from  the  regular  troops,  and  the  militia  from  other  states. 
Among  those  representations,  the  most  important,  from  the 


454  NOTES. 

station  of  the  writer,  were  those  of  the  governor.     On  the  8th  oi 
August,  1814,  he  says — 

"  On  a  late  occasion  I  had  the  mortification  to  acknowledge  my 
inability  to  meet  a  requisition  from  general  Flournoy ;  the  corps  of 
this  city  having,  for  the  most  part,  resisted  my  orders,  being  encour- 
aged in  their  disobedience  by  the  legislature  of  the  state,  then  in  ses- 
sion ;  one  branch  of  which,  the  senate,  having  declared  the  requisi- 
tion illegal  and  oppressive,  and  the  house  of  representatives  having 
rejected  a  proposition  to  approve  the  measure.  How  far  I  shall  be 
supported  in  my  late  orders,  remains  yet  to  be  proved.  I  have  rea- 
son to  calculate  upon  the  patriotism  of  the  interior  and  western 
counties.  I  know  also  that  there  are  many  faithful  citizens  in  New 
Orleans ;  but  there  are  others,  in  whose  attachment  to  the  United 
States  /  ought  not  to  confide.  Upon  the  whole,  sir,  I  cannot  disguise  the 
fact,  that  if  Louisiana  should  be  attacked,  we  must  principally  depend 
for  security  upon  the  prompt  movements  of  the  regular  force  undef 
your  command,  and  the  militia  of  the  western  states  and  territories. 
At  this  moment,  we  are  in  a  very  unprepared  and  defenceless  condi- 
tion :  several  important  points  of  defence  remain  unoccupied,  and  in 
case  of  a  sudden  attack,  this  capital  would,  I  fear,  fall  any  easy  sa- 
crifice." 

On  the  12th  of  the  same  month,  the  respondent  was  told — 

tc  On  the  native  Americans,  and  a  vast  majority  of  the  Creoles  of 
the  country,  I  place  much  confidence,  nor  do  I  doubt  the  fidelity  of 
many  Europeans,  who  have  long  resided  in  the  country ;  but  there 
are  others,  much  devoted  to  the  interest  of  Spain,  and  whose  partiali- 
ty to  the  English  is  not  less  observable  than  their  dislike  to  the 
American  government." 

In  a  letter  of  the  24th,  the  same  ideas  are  repeated — 

ce  Be  assured,  sir,  that  no  exertions  shall  be  wanting,  on  my  part ; 
but  I  cannot  disguise  from  you,  that  1  have  a  very  difficult  people  to 
manage :  to  this  moment,  no  opposition  to  the  requisition  has  manifest- 
ed itself,  but  1  am  not  seconded  with  that  ardent  zeal,  which,  in  my  opi- 
nion, the  crisis  demands.  We  look  with  great  anxiety  to  your  move- 
ments, and  place  our  greatest  reliance  for  safety,  on  the  energy  and 


NOTES.  455 

patriotism  of  the  western  states.  ID  Louisiana,  there  are  many  faithful 
citizens ;  these  last  persuade  themselves,  that  Spain  will  soon  re- 
possess herself  of  Louisiana,  and  they  seem  to  believe,  that  a  com- 
bined Spanish  and  English  force  will  soon  appear  on  our  coast. 
If  Louisiana  is  invaded,  I  shall  put  myself  at  the  head  of  such  of  my 
militia  as  will  follow  me  to  the  field,  and,  on  receiving,  shall  obey  your 
orders.  I  need  not  assure  you  of  my  entire  confidence  in  you,  as  a 
commander,  and  of  the  pleasure  I  shall  experience  in  supporting  all 
your  measures  for  the  common  defence ;  but,  sir,  a  cause  of  inde- 
scribable cfiagrin  to  me  is,  that  1  am  not  at  the  head  of  a  willing  and 
united  people  :  native  Americans,  native  Louisianians,  Frenchmen, 
and  Spaniards,  with  some  Englishmen,  compose  the  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation— among  them,  there  exists  much  jealousy,  and  as  great  differ- 
ences in  political  sentiments  as  in  their  language  and  habits.  But, 
nevertheless,  sir,  if  we  are  supported  by  a  respectable  body  of  regu- 
lar troops,  or  of  western  militia,  1  trust  I  shall  be  able  to  bring  to 
your  aid,  a  valiant  and  faithful  corps  of  Louisiana  militia :  but  if  we 
are  left  to  rely  principally  on  our  own  resources,  I  fear  existing  jeal- 
ousies will  lead  to  a  distrust  so  general,  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
make  but  a  feeble  resistance." 

On  the  8th  of  September,  the  spirit  of  disaffection  is  said  to  be 
greater  than  was  supposed — the  country  is  said  to  be  filled  with 
spies  and  traitors :  "  Inclosed  you  have  copies  of  my  late  general 
orders.  They  may,  and  I  trust  will  be  obeyed ;  but  to  this  moment 
my  fellow-citizens  have  not  manifested  all  that  union  and  zeal  the 
crisis  demands,  and  their  own  safety  requires.  There  is  in  this  city 
a  much  greater  spirit  of  disaffection  than  I  had  anticipated ;  and  among 
the  faithful  Louisianians,  there  is  a  despondency  which  palsies  all  my 
preparations ;  they  see  no  strong  regular  force,  around  which  they 
could  rally  with  confidence,  and  they  seem  to  think  themselves  not 
within  the  reach  of  seasonable  assistance  from  the  western  states.  1 
am  assured,  sir,  you  will  make  the  most  judicious  disposition  of  the 
forces  under  your  command  ;  but  excuse  me  for  suggesting,  that  the 
presence  of  the  seventh  regiment,  at  or  near  JNew  Orleans,  will 
have  the  most  salutary  effect.  The  garrison  here  at  present  is 
alarmingly  weak,  and  is  a  cause  of  much  regret :  from  the  great 
mixture  of  persons,  and  characters,  in  this  city,  we  have  as  much  to 
apprehend  from  within  as  from  without.  In  arresting  the  intercourse 
between  New  Orleans  and  Pensacola,  you  have  done  right.  Pensa- 


456  NOTES. 

cola,  is,  in  fact,  an  enemy's  post,  and  had  our  commercial  intercourse 
with  it  continued,  the  supplies  furnished  to  the  enemy  would  have 
so  much  exhausted  our  own  stock  of  provisions,  as  to  have  occasioned 
the  most  serious  inconvenience  to  ourselves.  I  was  on  the  point  of 
taking  on  myself  the  prohibition  of  the  trade  with  Pensacola :  I  had 
prepared  a  proclamation  to  that  effect,  and  would  have  issued  it  the 
very  day  I  heard  of  your  interposition.  Enemies  to  the  country  may 
blame  you  for  your  prompt  and  energetic  measures ;  but,  in  the  per- 
son of  every  patriot,  you  will  find  a  supporter.  I  am  very  confident 
of  the  very  lax  police  of  this  city,  and  indeed  throughout  the  state, 
with  respect  to  the  visits  of  strangers.  I  think,  with  you,  that  our 
country  is  filled  with  spies  and  traitors :  I  have  written  pressingly  on 
the  subject  to  the  city  authorities  and  parish  judges. — I  hope  some 
efficient  regulations  will  speedily  be  adopted  by  the  first,  and  more 
vigilance  exerted  for  the  future  by  the  latter." 

On  the   19th  of  September,  speaking  of  the  drafts  of  militia,  he 

says — 

"  The  only  difficulty  I  have  hitherto  experienced  in  meeting  the 
requisition,  has  been  in  this  city,  and  exclusively  from  some  European 
Frenchmen,  who,  after  giving  their  adhesion  to  Louis  XVIII,  have, 
through  the  medium  of  the  French  consul,  claimed  exemption  from 
the  drafts,  as  French  subjects.  The  question  of  exemption,  however, 
is  now  under  discussion,  before  a  special  court  of  inquiry,  and  I  am 
not  without  hopes,  that  these  ungrateful  men  may  yet  be  brought 
to  a  discharge  of  their  duties." 

On  the  necessity  qf  securing  the  country  against  the  machinations 
of  foreigners,  he,  on  the  4th  of  November,  informed  the  respon- 
dent— 

"  You  have  been  informed  of  the  contents  of  an  intercepted  letter, 
written  by  colonel  Coliel,  a  Spanish  officer,  to  captain  Morales,  of 
Pensacola. — This  letter  was  submitted  for  the  opinion  of  the  attorney- 
general  of  the  state,  as  to  measures  to  be  pursued  against  the  writer. 
The  attorney-general  was  of  opinion,  that  the  courts  could  take  no 
cognizance  of  the  same:  but  that  the  governor  might  order  the 
^writer  to  leave  the  state,  and  in  case  of  refusal,  to  send  him  off  by 
force.  I  accordingly,  sir,  ordered  colonel  Coliel  to  take  his  departure, 


NOTES,  457 

in  forty-eight  hours,  for  Pensaeola,  and  gave  him  the  necessary  pass- 
ports. I  hope  this  measure  may  meet  your  approbation.  It  is  a  just 
retaliation  for  the  conduct  lately  observed  by  the  governor  of  Pensa- 
eola, and  may  induce  the  Spaniards  residing  among  us,  to  be  less 
communicative  upon  those  subjects  which  relate  to  our  military 
movements. 

With  the  impressions  this  correspondence  was  calculated  to  pro- 
duce, the  respondent  arrived  in  this  city,  where,  in  different  conver- 
sations, the  same  ideas  were  enforced,  and  he  was  advised,  hot  only 
by  the  governor  of  the  state,  but  very  many  influential  persons,  to 
proclaim  MARTIAL  LAW,  as  the  only  means  of  producing  union,  over- 
coming disaffection,  detecting  treason,  and  calling  forth  the  energies 
of  the  country.  This  measure  was  discussed  and  recommended  to 
the  respondent,  as  he  well  recollects,  in  the  presence  of  the  judge 
of  this  honourable  court,  who  not  only  made  no  objection,  but  seem- 
ed, by  his  gestures  and  silence,  to  approve  of  its  being  adopted. 
•These  Opinions,  respectable  in  themselves,  derived  greater  weight 
from  that  which  the  governor  expressed,  of  the  legislature  then  in 
session.  He  represented  their  fidelity  as  very  doubtful ;  ascribed  de- 
sign to  their  prolonged  session ;  and  appeared  extremely  desirous  that 
they  should  adjourn. 

The  respondent  had  also  been  informed,  that  in  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives, the  idea,  that  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  state  be- 
longed to  the  Spanish  government,  and  ought  not  to  be  represented, 
had  been  openly  advocated,  and  favourably  heard.  The  co-operation 
of  the  Spaniards  with  the  English,  was,  at  that  time,  a  prevalent 
idea. — This  information,  therefore,  appeared  highly  important.  He 
determined  to  examine,  with  the  utmost  care,  all  the  facts  that  had 
been  communicated  to  him ;  and  not  to  act  upon  the  advice  he  had 
received,  until  the  clearest  demonstration  should  have  determined  its 
propriety.  He  was  then  almost  an  entire  stranger,  in  the  place  he 
was  sent  to  defend,  and  unacquainted  with  the  language  of  a  majori- 
ty of  its  inhabitants.  While  these  circumstances  were  unfavourable 
to  his  obtaining  information,  on  the  one  hand,  they  precluded,  on  the 
other,  a  suspicion  that  his  measures  were  dictated  by  personal  friend- 
ship, private  animosity,  or  party  views.  Uninfluenced  by  such  mo- 
tives, he  began  his  observations.  He  sought  for  information,  and  to 
obtain  it?  communicated  with  men  of  every  description.  He  believed 

3M 


458 


NOTES. 


that  even  then  he  discovered  those  high  qualities,  which  have  since 
distinguished  those  brave  defenders  of  their  country : — that  the  va- 
riety of  language,  the  difference  of  habit,  and  even  the  national  pre- 
judices, which  seemed  to  divide  the  inhabitants,  might  be  made,  if 
properly  directed,  the  source  of  the  most  honourable  emulation. 
Delicate  attentions  were  necessary  to  foster  this  disposition ;  and  the 
highest  energy,  to  restrain  the  effects,  that  such  an  assemblage  was 
calculated  to  produce  ;  he  determined  to  avail  himself  of  both,  and 
with  this  view,  called  to  his  aid,  the  impulse  of  national  feeling,  the 
higher  motives  of  patriotic  sentiment,  and  the  noble  enthusiasm  of 
valour.  They  operated  in  a  manner  which  history  will  record ;  all 
who  could  be  influenced  by  those  feelings,  rallied  without  delay, 
round  the  standard  of  their  country.  Their  efforts,  however,  would 
have  been  unavailing,  if  the  disaffected  had  been  permitted  to  coun- 
teract them  by  their  treason,  the  timid  to  paralyze  them  by  their 
example,  and  both  to  stand  aloof  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  victory,  without  participating  in  the  danger  of  defeat. 

A  disciplined  and  powerful  army  was  on  our  coast,  commanded  by 
officers  of  tried  valour  and  consummate  skill ;  their  fleet  had  already 
destroyed  the  feeble  defence,  on  which,  alone,  we  could  rely  to  pre- 
vent their  landing  on  our  shores.  Their  point  of  attack  was  uncer- 
tain— a  hundred  inlets  were  to  be  guarded,  by  a  force  not  suflicient 
in  number  for  one ;  we  had  no  lines  of  defence  ;  treason  lurked 
among  us,  and  only  waited  the  moment  of  expected  defeat  to  show 
itself  openly.  Our  men  were  few,  and  of  those  few,  not  all  were 
armed ;  our  prospect  of  aid  and  supply  was  distant  and  uncertain ;  our 
titter  ruin,  if  we  failed,  at  hand,  and  inevitable  ;  every  thing  depend- 
ed on  the  prompt  and  energetic  use  of  the  means  we  possessed — on 
calling  the  whole  force  of  the  community  into  action ;  it  was  a  con- 
test for  the  very  existence  of  the  state,  and  every  nerve  was  to  be 
strained  in  its  defence.  The  physical  force  of  every  individual,  his 
moral  faculties,  his  property,  and  the  energy  of  his  example,  were 
to  be  called  into  action,  and  instant  action.  No  delay — no  hesitation, 
— no  inquiry  about  rights,  or  all  was  lost ;  and  every  thing  dear  to 
man,  his  property,  life,  the  honour  of  his  family,  his  country,  its  con- 
stitution and  laws,  were  swept  away  by  the  avowed  principles,  the 
open  practice  of  the  enemy  with  whom  we  had  to  contend.  Fortifi- 
cations were  to  be  erected,  supplies  procured,  arms  sought  for,  re- 
quisitions made,  the  emissaries  of  the  enemy  watched,  lurking  trea- 


NOTES.  459 

son  overawed,  insubordination  punished,  and  the  contagion  of  cow- 
ardly example  to  be  stopped. 

In  this  crisis,  and  under  a  firm  persuasion  that  none  of  those  ob- 
jects could  be  effected  by  the  exercise  of  the  ordinary  powers  con- 
fided to  him — under  a  solemn  conviction  that  the  country  committed 
to  his  care  could  he  saved  by  that  measure  only  from  utter  rum — 
under  a  religious  belief,  that  he  was  performing  the  most  important 
and  sacred  duty,  the  respondent  proclaimed  martial  law.  He  intend- 
ed, by  that  measure,  to  supersede  such  civil  powers  as,  in  their  ope- 
ration, interfered  with  those  he  was  obliged  to  exercise.  He  thought, 
in  such  a  moment,  constitutional  forms  must  be  suspended,  for  the 
permanent  preservation  of  constitutional  rights,  and  that  there  could 
be  no  question,  whether  it  were  best  to  depart  for  a  moment,  from 
the  enjoyment  of  our  dearest  privileges,  or  have  them  wrested  from 
«s  forever.  He  knew,  that  if  the  civil  magistrates  were  permitted 
to  exercise  their  usual  functions,  none  of  the  measures  necessary  to 
avert  the  awful  fate  that  threatened  us,  could  be  expected.  Personal 
liberty  cannot  exist  at  a  time  when  every  man  is  required  to  become 
a  soldier.  Private  property  cannot  be  secured  when  its  use  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  public  safety.  Unlimited  liberty  of  speech  is  incom- 
patible with  the  discipline  of  a  camp ;  and  that  of  the  press  more 
dangerous  still,  when  made  the  vehicle  of  conveying  intelligence  to 
the  enemy,  or  exciting  mutiny  among  the  troops.  To  have  suffered 
the  uncontrolled  enjoyment  of  any  of  those  rights,  during  the  time 
of  the  late  invasion,  would  have  been  to  abandon  the  defence  of  the 
country :  the  civil  magistrate  is  the  guardian  of  those  rights ;  and  the 
proclamation  of  martial  law  was  therefore  intended  to  supersede  the 
exercise  of  his  authority,  so  far  as  it  interfered  with  the  necessary 
restriction  of  those  rights  ;  but  no  further, 

The  respondent  states  these  principles  explicitly,  because  they 
are  the  basis  of  his  defence,  and  because  a  mistaken  notion  has  been 
circulated,  that  the  declaration  of  martial  law  only  subjected  the 
militia  in  service  to  its  operation.  This  would,  indeed,  have  been  a 
very  useless  ceremony,  as  such  persons  were  already  subject  to  it, 
without  the  addition  of  any  other  act.  Besides,  if  the  proclamation 
of,  martial  law  were  a  measure  of  necessity, — a  measure,  without  the 
exercise  of  which  the  country  must  unquestionably  have  been  con* 
,  then  does  it  form  a  complete  justification  for  the  act.  If  it  do 


460  NOTES. 

not,  in  what  manner  will  the  proceeding  by  attachment  for  contempt 
be  justified  ?  It  is  undoubtedly  and  strictly  a  criminal  prosecution ;  and 
the  constitution  declares,  that  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused 
shall  have  the  benefit  of  a  trial  by  jury ;  yet  a  prosecution  is  even 
now  going  on  in  this  court,  where  no  such  benefit  is  allowed.  Why  ? 
From  the  alleged  necessity  of  the  case,  because  courts  could  not,  it 
is  Said,  subsist  without  a  power  to  punish  promptly  by  their  own  act, 
and  without  the  intervention  of  a  jury.  Necessity  then,  may,  in  some 
cases,  justify  a  departure  from  the  constitution :  and  if,  in  the  doubt- 
ful case  of  avoiding  confusion  in  a  court,  shall  it  be  denied  in  the  se- 
rious one  of  preserving  a  country  from  conquest  and  ruin?  The  re- 
spondent begs  leave  to  explain,  that  in  using  this  argument,  he  does 
not  mean  to  admit  the  existence  of  necessity  in  the  case  of  attach- 
ment; but  to  show  that  the  principle  of  a  justification  from  necessity 
is  admitted,  even  in  the  weaker  case.  If  the  legislature  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  have  given  to  courts  the  power  to  punish  contempts,  it  is 
no  answer  to  this  defence,  for  two  reasons — first,  because  the  words 
of  the  law  do  not  necessarily  exclude  the  intervention  of  a  jury;  and 
secondly,  if  they  do,  the  law  itself  is  contrary  to  the  words  of  the 
constitution,  and  can  only  be  supported  on  the  plea  of  necessity ;  to 
which  head  it  is  referred  by  the  English  writers  on  the  subject. 

The  only  responsibility  which  has  been  incurred  in  the  present 
case,  is  that  which  arises  from  necessity.  This,  the  respondent 
agrees,  must  not  be  doubtful ;  it  must  be  apparent,  from  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  or  it  forms  no  justification.  He  submits  all  hi? 
acts,  therefore,  to  be  tested  by  this  rule. 

To  the  forcible  reasons  which  he  has  detailed,  as  impelling  him 
to  this  measure,  he  ought  to  add,  that  he  has  since,  by  the  confession 
of  the  enemy  himself,  received  a  confirmation  of  the  opinions,  which 
he  had  then  good  reason  to  believe  ;  that  there  were  men  among  us 
so  depraved,  as  to  give  daily  and  exact  information  of  our  movements, 
and  our  forces ;  that  the  number  of  those  persons  was  considerable, 
and  their  activity  unceasing.  The  names  of  those  wretches  will 
probably  be  discovered ;  and  the  respondent  persuades  himself,  that 
this  tribunal  will  employ  itself,  with  greater  satisfaction,  in  inflicting 
the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  than  it  now  does  in  investigating 
the  measures  that  were  taken  to  counteract  them. 


NOTES.  461 

Jf  example  can  justify,  or  the  practice  of  others  serve  as  a  proof 
of  necessity,  the  respondent  has  ample  materials  for  his  defence;  not 
from  analogous  construction,  but  from  the  conduct  of  all  the  differ- 
ent departments  of  the  state  government,  in  the  very  case  now  under 
discussion. 

The  legislature  of  the  state,  having  no  constitutional   power  to 

regulate  or  restrain  commerce,  on  the day  of  December  last, 

passed  an  act  laying  an  embargo — the  executive  sanctioned  it,  and, 
from  a  conviction  of  its  necessity,  it  was  acquiesced  in.  The  same 
legislature  shut  up  the  courts  of  justice  for  four  months,  to  all  civil 
suitors — the  same  executive  sanctioned  that  law,  and  the  judiciary 
not  only  acquiesced,  but  solemnly  approved  it. 

The  governor,  as  appears  by  one  of  the  letters  quoted,  undertook 
to  inflict  the  punishment  of  exile  upon  an  inhabitant,  without  any  form 
of  law,  merely  because  he  thought  that  an  individual's  presence 
might  be  dangerous  to  the  public  safety. 

The  judge  of  this  very  court,  duly  impressed  with  the  emergency 
of  the  moment,  and  the  necessity  of  employing  every  means  of  de- 
fence, consented  to  the  discharge  of  men  committed  and  indicted  for 
capital  crimes,  without  bail,  and  without  recognizance :  and  probably 
under  an  impression  that  the  exercise  of  his  functions  would  be  use- 
less, absented  himself  from  the  place  where  his  court  was  to  be  hold- 
en,  and  postponed  its  session,  during  a  regular  term. 

Thus  the  conduct  of  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary 
branches  of  the  government  of  this  state,  have  borne  the  fullest  tes- 
timony of  the  existence  of  the  necessity,  on  which  the  respondent 
relies. 

The  unqualified  approbation  of  the  legislature  of  the  United  States, 
and  such  of  the  individual  states  as  were  in  session,  ought  also  to  be 
admitted,  as  no  slight  means  of  defence ;  inasmuch  as  all  these  re- 
spectable bodies  were  fully  apprized  of  his  proclamation  of  martial 
law,  and  some  of  them  seem  to  refer  to  it,  by  thanking  him  for  the 
energy  of  his  measures. 

The  respondent,  therefore,  believes  he  has  established  the  oeces- 


462 


NOTES. 


sity  of  proclaiming-  martial  law.  He  has  shown  the  effects  of  that 
declaration ;  and  it  only  remains  to  prove,  in  answer  to  the  rule,  that 
the  power  assumed  from  necessity,  was  not  abused  in  its  exercise, 
nor  improperly  protracted  in  its  duration. 

All  the  acts  mentioned  in  the  rule,  took  place   after  the  enemy 
had  retired  from  the  position  they  had  at  first  assumed — after  they  had 
met  with  a  signal  defeat,  and  after  an  unofficial  account  had  been  re- 
ceived of  the  signature  of  a  treaty  of  peace.     Each  of  these  circum- 
stances might  be,  to  one  who  did  not  see  the  whole  ground,  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  supposing  that  further  acts  of  energy  and  vigour 
were  unnecessary.     On  the  mind  of  the  respondent,  they  had  a  dif- 
ferent effect.     The  enemy  had  retired  from  their  position,  it  is  true ; 
but  they  were  still  on  the  coast,  and  within  a  few  hours'  sail  of  the 
city.     They  had  been  defeated,  and  with  loss;   but  that  loss  was  to 
be  repaired  by  expected  reinforcements.     Their  numbers  still  much 
more  than  quadrupled  all  the  regular  forces  which  the  respondent 
could  command  ;  and  the  term  of  service  of  his  most  efficient  militia 
force  was  about  to  expire.     Defeat,  to  a  powerful  and  active  enemy, 
was  more  likely  to  operate  as  an  incentive  to  renewed  and  increased 
exertion,  than  to  inspire  them  with  despondency,  or  to  paralyze  their 
efforts.     A  treaty,  it  is  true,  had  been  probably  signed  ;  yet  it  might 
not  be  ratified.  Its  contents  had  not  transpired,  and  no  reasonable  con- 
jecture could  be  formed,  that  it  would  be  acceptable.    The  influence 
which  the  account  of  its  signature  had  on  the  army,  was  deleterious 
in  the  extreme,  and  showed  a  necessity  for  increased  energy,  instead 
of  a  relaxation  of  discipline.     Men,  who  had  shown  themselves  zeal- 
ous in  the  preceding  part  of  the  campaign,  now  became  lukewarm 
in  the  service.     Those  whom  no  danger  could  appal,  and  no  labour 
discourage,  complained   of  the  hardships  of  the  camp.     When  the 
enemy  were  no  longer  immediately  before  them,  they  thought  them- 
selves oppressed,  by  being  detained  in  service.     Wicked  and  weak 
men,  who,  from  their  situation  in  life,  ought  to  have  furnished  a  bet- 
ter example,  secretly  encouraged  this  spirit  of  insubordination.  They 
affected  to  pity  the  hardships  of  those  who  were  kept  in  the  field  > 
they  fomented  discontent  by  insinuating  that  the  merits  of  those  to 
whom  they  addressed  themselves,  had  not  been  sufficiently  noticed 
or  applauded ;  and  to  so  high  a  degree  had  the  disorder  at  length 
risen,  that  at  one  period,  only  fifteen  men  and  one  officer,  out  of  a 
whole  regiment,  stationed  to  guard  the  very  avenue  through  which 


NOTES.  463 

tho  cne  my  hnd  penetrated  into  the  country,  were  found  at  their  post. 
At  another  point  equally  important,  a  whole  corps,  on  which  the 
greatest  reliance  had  been  placed,  operated  upon  by  the  acts  of  a 
foreign  agent,  suddenly  deserted  their  post. 

If,  trusting  to  an  uncertain  peace,  the  respondent  had  revoked  his 
proclamation,  or  ceased  to  act  under  it,  the  fatal  security  by  which 
ive  were  lulled,  might  have  destroyed  all  discipline,  have  dissolved 
all  his  force,  and  left  him  without  any  means  of  defending  the  country 
against  an  enemy,  instructed,  by  the  traitors  within  our  own  bosom, 
of  the  time  and  place  at  which  he  might  safely  make  his  attack.  In 
such  an  event,  his  life  might  have  been  offered  up  ;  yet  it  would  have 
been  but  a  feeble  expiation,  for  the  disgrace  and  misery,  into  which, 
by  his  criminal  negligence,  he  had  permitted  the  country  to  be 
plunged, 

He  thought  peace  a  probable,  but  by  no  means  a  certain  event.  If 
it  had  really  taken  place,  a  few  days  must  bring  the  official  advice  of 
it ;  and  he  believed  it  better  to  submit,  during  those  few  days,  to  the 
salutary  restraints  imposed,  than  to  put  every  thing  dear  to  ourselves 
and  country  at  risk  upon  an  uncertain  contingency.  Admit  the  chances 
to  have  been  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  to  one  in  favour  of  the  ratifi- 
cation, and  against  any  renewed  attempts  of  the  enemy ;  what  should 
\ve  say  or  think  of  the  prudence  of  the  man,  who  would  stake  his 
life,  his  fortune,  his  country,  and  his  honour,  even  with  such  odds  in 
his  favour,  against  a  few  days'  anticipated  enjoyment  of  the  blessings 
of  peace  ?  The  respondent  could  not  bring  himself  to  play  so  deep  a 
hazard  ;  uninfluenced  by  the  clamours  of  the  ignorant  and  the  desi^nin^ 
he  continued  the  exercise  of  that  law  which  necessity  had  compelled 
him  to  proclaim  ;  and  he  still  thinks  himself  justified,  by  the  situation 
of  affairs,  for  the  course  which  he  adopted  and  pursued.  Has  he 
exercised  this  power  wantonly  or  improperly  ?  If  so,  he  is  liable ; 
not,  as  he  believes,  to  this  honourable  court  for  contempt,  but  to  his 
.government  for  an  abuse  of  power,  and  to  those  individuals  whom  he 
has  injured,  in  damages  proportioned  to  that  injury. 

About  the  period  last  described,  the  consul  of  France,  who  ap- 
pears, by  governor  Claiborne's  letter,  to  have  embarrassed  the  first 
drafts,  by  his  claims  in  favour  of  pretended  subjects  of  his  king,  re- 
newed his  interference ;  his  certificates  were  given  to  men  in  the 


464  .NOTES. 

ranks  of  the  army  ;  to  some  who  Ind  never  applied,  and  to  others 
who  wished  to  use  them  as  the  means  of  obtaining-  an  inglorious  e'x- 
emption  from  danger  and  fatigue.  The  immunit}'  derived  from  these 
certificates  not  only  thinned  the  ranks,  by  the  withdrawal  of  those  to 
whom  they  were  given,  but  produced  the  desertion  of  others,  who 
thought  themselves  equally  entitled  to  the  privilege  ;  and  to  this 
cause  must  be  traced  the  abandonment  of  the  important  post  of  Chef 
Menteur,  and  the  temporal'}'  refusal  of  a  relief  ordered  to  occupy  it. 

Under  these  circumstances,  to  remove  the  force  of  an  example 
which  had  already  occasioned  such  dangerous  consequences,  and  to 
punish  those  who  were  so  unwilling  to  defend  what  they  were  so 
ready  to  enjoy,  the  respondent  issued  a  general  order,  directing  those 
French  subjects,  who  had  availed  themselves  of  the  consul's  certifi- 
cates, to  remove  out  of  the  lines  of  defence,  and  far  enough  to  avoid 
any  temptation  of  intercourse  with  our  enemy,  whom  they  were  so 
scrupulous  of  opposing.  This  measure  was  resorted  to,  as  the  mild- 
est mode  of  proceeding  against  a  dangerous  and  increasing  evil;  and 
the  respondent  had  the  less  scruple  of  his  power,  in  this  instance,  as 
it  was  not  quite  so  strong  as  that  which  governor  Claiborne  had  ex- 
ercised, before  the  invasion,  by  the  advice  of  his  attorney-general, 
in  the  case  of  colonel  Coliel. 

It  created,  however,  some  sensation  ;— discontents  were  again  fo- 
mented, from  the  source  that  had  first  produced  them.  Aliens  and 
strangers  became  the  most  violent  advocates  of  constitutional  right?, 
and  native  Americans  were  taught  the  value  of  their  privileges,  by 
those  who  formally  disavowed  any  title  to  their  enjoyment.  The 
order  was  particularly  opposed,  in  an  anonymous  publication.  In 
this,  the  author  deliberately  and  wickedly  misrepresented  the  order, 
as  subjecting  to  removal  all  Frenchmen  whatever,  even  those  who 
had  gloriously  fought  in  defence  of  the  country ;  and,  after  many 
dangerous  and  unwarrantable  declarations,  he  closes,  by  calling  upon 
all  Frenchmen  to  flock  to  the  standard  of  their  consul — thus  advising 
and  producing  an  act  of  mutiny  arid  insubordination,  and  publishing 
the  evidence  of  our  weakness  and  discord  to  the  enemy,  who  were 
still  in  our  vicinity,  anxious,  no  doubt,  before  the  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties, to  wipe  away  the  late  stain  upon  their  arms.  To  have  silently 
looked  on  such  an  offence,  without  making  any  attempt  to  punish  it, 
would  have  been  a  formal  surrender  of  all  dicipline,  all  order,  all 


NOTES.  465 

personal  dignity  and  public  safety^  This  could  not  be  done  ;  and  the 
respondent  immediately  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  offender.  A  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  was  directed  to  issue  for  his  enlargement.  The  very 
case  which  had  been  foreseen,  the  very  contingency  on  which  mar- 
tial law  was  intended  to  operate,  had  now  occurred.  The  civil  magis- 
trate seemed  to  think  it  his  duty  to  enforce  the  enjoyment  of  civil 
rights,  although  the  consequences  which  have  been  described,  would 
probably  have  resulted.  An  unbending  sense  of  what  he  seemed  to 
think  his  station  required,  induced  him  to  order  the  liberation  of  the 
prisoner.  This,  under  the  respondent's  sense  of  duty,  produced  a 
conflict  which  it  was  his  wish  to  avoid. 

No  other  course  remained,  than  to  enforce  the  principles  which  he 
had  laid  down  as  his  guide,  and  to  suspend  the  exercise  of  this  judicial 
power,  wherever  it  interfered  with  the  necessary  means  of  defence. 
The  only  way  effectually  to  do  this,  was  to  place  the  judge  in  a  situa- 
tion in  which  his  interference  could  not  counteract  the  measures  of 
defence,  or  give  countenance  to  the  mutinous  disposition  that  had 
shown  itself  in  so  alarming  a  degree.  Merely  to  have  disregarded 
the  writ,  would  but  have  increased  the  evil,  and  to  have  obeyed  it, 
was  wholly  repugnant  to  the  respondent's  ideas  of  the  public  safety, 
and  to  his  own  sense  of  duty.  The  judge  was  therefore  confined, 
and  removed  beyond  the  lines  of  defence. 

As  to  the  paper  mentioned  in  the  rule,  which  the  respondent  is 
charged  with  taking  and  detaining,  he  answers,  that  when  the  writ 
was  produced  by  the  clerk  of  this  honourable  court,  the  date  of  its 
issuance  appeared  to  have  been  altered  from  the  5th  to  the  6th.  He 
was  questioned  respecting  the  apparent  alteration,  and  acknowledged 
it  had  been  done  by  judge  Hall,  and  not  in  the  presence  of  the  party 
who  made  the  affidavit.  This  material  alteration,  in  a  paper  that 
concerned  him,  gave  the  respondent  as  he  thought,  a  right  to  detain 
it  for  further  investigation,  which  he  accordingly  did ;  but  gave  a 
certified  copy,  and  an  acknowledgment  that  the  original  was  in  his 
possession. 

The  respondent  avows,  that  he  considered  this  alteration  in  the 
date  of  the,  affidavit,  as  it  was  then  explained  to  him  by  the  clerk,  to 
be  such  evidence  of  a  personal,  not  judicial  interference,  and  activity, 
in  behalf  of  a  man  charged  with  the  most  serious  ofience,:as  justified 

3N 


466  NOTES. 

the  idea  then  formed,  that  the  judge  approved  his  conduct,  and  sup- 
ported his  attempts  to  excite  disaffection  among  the  troops. 

This  was  the  conduct  of  the  respondent,  and  these  the  motives 
which  prompted  it.  They  have  been  fairly  and  openly  exposed  to 
this  tribunal,  and  to  the  world,  and  would  not  have  been  accompanied 
by  any  exception  or  waver  of  jurisdiction,  if  it  had  been  deemed  ex- 
pedient to  give  him  that  species  of  trial,  to  which  he  thinks  himself 
entitled,  by  the  constitution  of  his  country.  The  powers  which  the 
exigency  of  the  times  forced  him  to  assume,  have  been  exercised 
exclusively  for  the  public  good;  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  they 
have  been  attended  with  unparalleled  success.  They  have  saved 
the  country ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  that  country,  or 
the  decrees  of  its  courts,  in  relation  to  the  means  he  has  us*d,  he 
can  never  regret  that  he  employed  them. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 


(<*) 

Address  to  the  troops  at  Aew  Orleans,  after  the  annunciation  of  peace. 

The  major-general  is  at  length  enabled  to  perform  the  pleasing 
task  of  restoring  to  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  and  the  territory 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  brave  troops  who  have  acted  such  a  distinguish- 
ed part  in  the  war  which  has  just  terminated.  In  restoring  these 
brave  men  to  their  homes,  much  exertion  is  expected  of,  and  great 
responsibility  imposed  on,  the  commanding  officers  of  the  different 
corps.  It  is  required  of  major-generals  Carroll  and  Thomas,  and 
brigadier-general  Coffee,  to  march  their  commands,  without  unne- 
cessary delajr,  to  their  respective  states.  The  troops  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi territory  and  state  of  Louisiana,  both  militia  and  volunteers, 
will  be  immediately  mustered  out  of  service,  paid,  and  discharged. 

The  major-general  has  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  the  approba- 
tion of  the  president  of  the  United  States  to  the  conduct  of  the  troops 
under  his  command,  expressed,  in  flattering  terms,  through  the  ho- 
nourable the  secretary  at 


NOTES. 


467 


In  parting  with  those  brave  men,  whose  destinies  have  been  so 
long  united  with  his  own,  and  in  whose  labours  and  glories  it  is  his 
happiness  and  his  boast  to  have  participated,  the  commanding  general 
can  neither  suppress  his  feelings,  nor  give  utterance  to  them  as  he 
ought.  In  what  terms  can  he  bestow  suitable  praise  on  merit  so  ex- 
traordinary, so  unparalleled  ?  Let  him,  in  one  burst  of  joy,  gratitude, 
and  exultation,  exclaim — "  These  are  the  saviours  of  their  country — 
these  the  patriot  soldiers,  who  triumphed  over  the  invincibles  of 
Wellington,  and  conquered  the  conquerors  of  Europe  I"  With  what 
patience  did  you  submit  to  privations — with  what  fortitude  did  you 
endure  fatigue — what  valour  did  you  display  in  the  day  of  battle  ! 
You  have  secured  to  America  a  proud  name  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth — a  glory  which  will  never  perish. 

Possessing  those  dispositions,  which  equally  adorn  the  citizen  and 
the  soldier,  the  expectations  of  your  country  will  be  met  in  peace,  as 
her  wishes  have  been  gratified  in  war.  Go,  then,  my  brave  com- 
panions, to  your  homes ;  to  those  tender  connexions,  and  blissful 
scenes,  which  render  life  so  dear — full  of  honour,  and  crowned  with 
laurels  which  will  never  fade.  When  participating  in  the  bosoms  of 
your  families,  the  enjoyment  of  peaceful  life,  with  what  happiness 
will  you  not  look  back  to  the  toils  you  have  borne — to  the  dangers  you 
have  encountered  ?  How  will  all  your  past  exposures  be  converted 
into  sources  of  inexpressible  delight?  Who,  that  never  experienced 
your  sufferings,  will  be  able  to  appreciate  your  joys  ?  The  man  who 
slumbered  ingloriously  at  home,  during  your  painful  marches,  your 
nights  of  watchfulness,  and  your  days  of  toil,  will  envy  you  the  hap- 
piness which  these  recollections  will  afford — still  more  will  he  envy 
the  gratitude  of  that  country,  which  you  have  so  eminently  contri- 
buted to  save. 

Continue,  fellow  soldiers,  on  your  passage  to  your  several  destina- 
tions, to  preserve  that  subordination,  that  dignified  and  manly  deport- 
ment, which  have  so  ennobled  your  character. 

While  the  commanding  general  is  thus  giving  indulgence  to  his 
feelings,  towards  those  brave  companions,  who  accompanied  him 
through  difficulties  and  danger,  he  cannot  permit  the  names  of  Blount, 
and  Shelby,  and  Holmes,  to  pass  unnoticed.  With  what  generous 
ardour  and  patriotism  have  these  distinguished  governors  contributed 


468  NOTES* 

all  their  exertions,  to  provide  the  means  of  victory !     The  recoilec 
tion  of  their  exertions,  and  of  the  success  which  has  resulted,  will  he 
to  them  a  reward  more  grateful  than  any  which  the  pomp  of  title,  or 
the  splendour  of  wealth,  can  bestow. 

What  happiness  it  is  to  the  commanding  general,  that,  while  dan- 
ger was  before  him,  he  was,  on  no  occasion,  compelled  to  use  to- 
wards his  companions  in  arms,  either  severity  or  rebuke.  If,  after 
the  enemy  had  retired,  improper  passions  began  their  empire  in  a 
few  unworthy  bosoms,  and  rendered  a  resort  to  energetic  measures 
necessary  for  their  suppression,  he  has  not  confounded  the  innocent 
with  the  guilty — the  seduced  with  the  seducers.  Towards  you,  fellow- 
soldiers,  the  most  cheering  recollections  exist ;  blended,  alas !  with  re- 
gret, that  disease  and  war  should  have  ravished  from  us  so  many 
worthy  companions.  But  the  memory  of  the  cause  in  which  they 
perished,  and  of  the  virtues  which  animated  them  while  living,  must 
occupy  the  place  where  sorrow  would  claim  to  dwell. 

Farewell,  fellow-soldiers.  The  expression  of  your  general's  thanks 
is  feeble  ;  but  the  gratitude  of  a  country  of  freemen  is  yours — yours 
the  applause  of  an  admiring  world. 

ANDREW  JACKSON, 

Major-General  commanding 


V 


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